Jack
by icywhisperingkiss
Summary: "The stories never let Jack Frost have a past. They say it's one person who is, always has been, and always will be Jack. But I was Luke, I swear. I died, and woke up as… This. I can't get hurt. I can't die. They want me to leave you again. I can't lose you again. I love you." I stepped back. "But now I'm Jack." Jack Frost like you've never seen him before. This is his story.
1. Intro

Luke

I guess you could say I was never a fan of empowering ideals. Not because I didn't believe in them, but because I never thought I could fulfill them.

So maybe that's why I didn't try in school. Or why I was always fired from a job on the third or fourth day, or why I never showed up to one of my boy scout meetings when I was a kid. I knew that there was somebody better than me, who was going to get what needed to get done, done faster than I could. And I really was okay with that. I mean, hey, partying every weekend seemed nice at the time. Not having to worry about being committed in my relationships, because I knew that the next night we'd both be making out with a stranger, and we both didn't care.

Once, my teacher made me write this sentence a few hundred times:

_I am an irresponsible, reckless, self serving teenage._

And that sentence stuck, but not in the way that teacher expected.

From that day on, I got worse. I reeked of desperation and was beyond needing help. I needed to get a life.

Lucky for me, I did. All I had to do was lose mine.

**A/N**

**Meet Jack. I'm sure you'll ****_love _****him, I absolutely do! This is a really different twist on a Jack Frost story, and is something I'm really proud of. I'm going to post a chapter every day, starting tomorrow. (This was just the Intro.) So Read, Recommend, and Review! I love every single letter that people comment with, negative or positive! You all are so wonderful, thank you! **

**-Icy**


	2. Chapter One

Luke

**_Big Brat- Phantom Planet_**

If anything, I was an idiot.

My story really begins on a Thursday morning outside of a Walgreens on Liberty Street in Aperio, Minnesota. That's when I hit Riley with my truck.

I was picking up a pack of Red Bull, like any 21 year old college guy would do when he has to get up early, when I backed up right into her little Honda. I was trying to send a text to my friend, Jake, telling him I had the RB when I rammed into her with my taillight. After realizing who it was, I slunk down in my seat and waited.

Because no, this isn't some love story. I knew her. And she knew me.

I knew this couldn't end well.

"Good going, pretty boy. What're you going to do next- steal my ID?"

"Nice to see you too, Riley."

Riley Valente and I could be the last people on earth and she still would whine at me about something. Maybe, '_Where are all the people? Bring them back, idiot.'_

We'd grown up together. She was three years younger than I was and ten times as smart, which I hated. Our parents had went to high school together, lived in the same neighborhood (still did, actually), and had an idea after Riley was born. My parents wanted two kids- a girl and boy- but couldn't have any more. Her parents wanted a girl and a boy too, so they all just stopped together and pretended like we were siblings for the longest time. But it wasn't hard to figure out that we weren't. I was French. That meant blonde hair, blue eyes, and (according to Riley) a world record breaking ego. I disagreed. I thought the quarterback broke the record, and I was about second place.

The Valente were Italian so Riley was born with dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, and dark olive skin. We looked nothing alike.

"So my car has a dent the size of your Texas, and it's not gonna be cheap. Either you and I call my insurance now, or we can tonight. At dinner. _With our parents_."

She waited for that to sink in. It did.

I cussed and leaned over to the passenger side door, cracking it open.

"Well, I guess I'll drive you to where you're going. Which is.. school?"

She rolled her eyes. "So sweet, but no. It's fall break, fagbag. I'm going to Wal-Mart."

I sucked air in through my teeth at the fag comment. "Working there now? You've upped your standards, Riley."

Her cheeks turned red at what I was insinuating.

"Sorry, I'm not into brothels. Like some people."

I slammed my handle on the wheel of the car. "It wasn't a whore house, it was a girls home."

"And it just _turned out_ that they were all prostitutes?"

I turned in my seat, glaring at her through the window. "Okay one, yes. Two, I didn't pay them. Look, are you getting in the car or not?"

She rolled her eyes. "My car has a dent. That doesn't mean I can't still drive it."

"Then why am I still talking to you?"

She scowled and said dryly, "You know I've been asking myself the same question since I stepped out of the car?"

She walked away, a bad attitude just flowing off of her in waves. I scoffed. Could anyone _really _be that stuck up?

With a pull at the handle, the passenger door closed and I drove off, back to the house. My parents house.

Why the hell my college wouldn't let me back, I wouldn't know for a while. UWS could screw itself.

I pounded my steering wheel and drove.

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"Do you still like pork?"

I looked up from my lap, my eyes focusing on Jules, Riley's mom. I nodded.

"I've been eating college food for two years." I said. "I'll eat anything that doesn't come out of a box."

"And we all know it." Riley muttered. She was across from me, with her little brother, Jess, on her side. Jess chuckled, looking up at me. He was a good kid. Fourteen years old and wasn't totally perverted. He was really smart too; an IQ a couple of points above genius level. Riley was smart, but not _that _smart. And I was… not as smart. Not stupid. But I wasn't exactly a straight 'A' student.

"Thought that was funny, huh?" I said, grinning. He shook his head and looked back down at his plate. I glanced at my dad next to me. His mouth was set in a firm line, and his jaw was tight, meaning he was mad again.

"Luke, did your parents tell you about the trips?"

I shook my head, looking at Jules.

"We went to Chicago for summer break." My mom said. "And we've just been obsessed with traveling ever since. We're going a couple of places this month, and almost every week next month. Maybe you'll come with us."

I nodded, wishing I could leave like they could. They wouldn't take me. They knew I'd just leave them and travel from there."

"So you how long's it been?" Blake asked, leaning back in his seat and smiling. Riley's dad was always smiling, him the exact opposite of my dad.

"Since what?" Riley asked.

"Since you two have seen each other?" He finished. "Since summer break?"

"Earlier today, actually." Riley spit out, scowling at me. "He ran into my car."

Everybody kind of got quiet for a minute before all of our parents started asking me questions at once.

"I just didn't see her car." I said, probably a thousand times. That, along with, "I'll pay for it."

In the end, everyone was already sick of me.

I left, taking a six pack of beer from the garage, and drove to Lake Ogle, which was a half hour drive from my house. I got drunk, and slept in the car for my first night back in Aperio.

Home sweet home, right?

**A/N**

**Here's chapter two, with a peek inside of Luke's head! Hope you liked it! At the beginning, there's a song and an artist listed. If you listen to the song while you're reading, it'll make everything flow a ****_lot _****better, and it's what I listened to endlessly while writing ****J****What music do you listen to? Favorite and review! (Oh, and the plot will be clear eventually.. Stick with me!)**

**-Icy**


	3. Chapter Two

Luke

**_Attractive Today- Motion City Soundtrack_**

I woke up the next morning, freezing cold. It was a dumb idea to sleep in my car, yeah. It was even more dumb that I hadn't brought a blanket or anything.

My neck was killing me all the way back, and my phone was going off like crazy. My parents were always nervous whenever I left. They used to not care, but now… Everything was a little different.

Let's just say that.

I pulled into my driveway at 7:15 in the morning, wishing my car wasn't so loud. They'd already be awake, no doubt at the Valente's. I stepped out onto the pavement and felt the cold air digging into me, into my eyes, and into my clothes. It was October In Aperio, and locals were saying this was going to be a record year. It was already down to 29 degrees, the record ever being 28.

A lot different from where I'd been for the past few months. California was always hot and sunny and gorgeous. And now, after everything I'd tried to do, I was back where I'd started.

I winced when I stepped inside. I heard my parents in the kitchen.

"I just- I don't know what to do." My mom was saying. "What do I even say?"

Dad's painfully deep, painfully disappointed voice came next. "I think we've just got to make it clear- he can't stay here. He wanted to leave, and we can't just be the last resort for him. He's got to make it on his own."

If that wasn't tough love, I didn't know what was.

I walked down the hallway, my duffel slung over my shoulder. I hadn't been back there yet.

Everything was the same from when I'd left. Pictures of us at different Easters and Christmas's were sitting on a stand in the front of the hall. School pictures of Riley, Jess, and I were hanging in the hall. And there was still that cheesy, "Home Sweet Home," Rug in the bathroom.

I spotted my bedroom door cracked at the end of the hall. The light was on.

Okay, now I could've dealt with that. I didn't really care if my parents went into my room- because I'd hidden everything important in either the floorboards, or my closet. But Riley was inside of my closet, and that was what pissed me off.

"What the hell, Riley?!" I said, moving over to her and pulling her back. She seemed a little shaken up, but mostly just pissed off.

"You still have my report card from 9th grade, don't you."

I closed my eyes and clenched my fist. "You're going through my closet. For _that?"_

She paced over the other side of the room. "I got a call from Berkeley. They have to have- in paper- my student ID number from all four years of high school for some retarded immigration check."

She glared at me, like she expected me to understand or something.

_"__Well?" _ I broke the silence.

"_Well, _the school doesn't have the files anymore. I took them home, remember? And you took them, and I never got them back."

I leaned against my dresser and rubbed my temple. "I probably threw it away the next day. Why would I keep that?"

She let out a sharp of air. "This is really, really important. I _need _that file, Luke. Please, just try to remember."

I shrugged. "I don't have it."

She stared behind me at the door for a minute before walking out. I closed the door, and fell on my bed, groaning.

24 hours, and I wanted out.

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"Is Jake Wright still in town?" I asked my mom, standing by the counter. She shook her head.

"I just spoke with his mother a few days ago," She began. Her French accent was still so strong, despite her twenty some years in the States. "He's in Law School in Philadelphia."

Jake in law school was pretty ironic. Back in high school, he was my closest friend. He was the guy who was always getting drug busted, suspended, and spent a ton of nights getting drunk and put in jail. He never got convicted of anything, but the receptionist at the Sherriff's office knew him by name.

"What about Tad Lawrence?"

"He's in the marines." Jess said. I nodded understandingly. Tad had always been like that. Always doing the 'right thing.' I didn't know how we managed to stay friends, but we did. I just hadn't talked to him in months.

My mom, Jules, Riley, and Jess were all in the kitchen. The girls were trying to teach us to cook dinner… But after cutting my hand three times, everybody decided to opt me out.

"Chelsea Wilson's still here, though." Riley said, smirking. "She failed a bunch of classes her senior year, so she had to stay another year to finish High School. I bet you two would have a _lot _to… '_Talk about.'_"

I glared at her. "Yeah, I bet we would."

"I didn't know you and Chelsea were friends." Jules said, smiling. "That's so nice."

"Oh yeah, they were really good friends." Riley continued. "They used to spend a lot of time studying…"

"Hey, remember Chad Valdez's party? It was your Sophomore year, I think. When I picked you up from his house?"

Her cheeks turned pink. "No, I don't."

I smiled. "I guess you wouldn't. You were totally wa-"

"Hey, how long does this go in the oven?" She interrupted. I shrugged.

After setting it in the stove, she came up to me and poked a finger at my chest. "We said we wouldn't ever talk about that." She hissed quietly.

"But Chelsea? Really? That's low."

"I didn't say anything specific."

I grabbed her hand and lowered it down to her side. "They're not stupid, okay?"

"I know that."

"Then stop acting like it. I've got to make this work, okay? Now pretend you know nothing, or I'll tell them about the party."

Her eyes widened. "You don't know anything."

"You know what I know. And that's not something _they _wanna know. Got it?"

She nodded solemnly.

"Look Stacy," Jules began, laughing. "I think they're finally starting to like each other. After all this time, maybe we'll have some grandchildren."

I faked a laughed and shook my head. "Don't worry too much about that." I joked.

Riley forced a small smiled and turned away from me. Her hands were shaking.

Luke:1, Riley: 0

**A/N**

**Hey babes! **

**I hoped you loved the song at the beginning, it's one of my ****_favorites! _****This chapter is all about family life and things. It's only a few chapters away from when things start getting cool, and I'm so. Freaking. Excited. **

**The real question on my mind is…. What's an incredible Christmas-y cookie? I am in the search for the most amazing minty cookie.**

**Yours truly, **

**-Icy**


	4. Chapter Three

Riley

**_Demons- Imagine Dragons_**

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**THREE WEEKS LATER**

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"I heard Luke Moreau is back."

I looked up from my phone. My friend, Brooke, was looking right at me. After a couple of seconds, Sadie and Isabel were looking at me too.

"Yeah, he is. Why?"

Olivia shrugged and smiled. "I don't know. It's just been a while. He's probably changed a lot. But, I mean, he did pretty much live at your house since forever."

"And he's practically a sex _god._" Isabel said.

I just gave her a look.

"Well…" She trailed off, making me roll my eyes. Isabel used to be, 'One of them.' One of the few girls at Aperio High who everyone hated for being so perfect. She dated Luke for a while, and that was how I got to know her. But at some point in our junior year, she just decided enough was enough. She hung out with me and the girls, and the rest was history. Goodbye popularity, hello morality.

"How's he doing?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. He's still a jerk. Maybe even more than he used to be."

"How does he look?"

I looked at the ceiling for a moment. "Like Luke, I guess."

"Riley, come on." Sadie said, running her fingers through her long, dark hair. "We're not asking for much, here. Just tell us about him."

"I just- I don't know why you care."

Isabel moaned. "Because he's _perfect, _and you guys are so close."

"We _hate _each other."

"What if you didn't?" Brooke said. "You two would be pretty much be married."

"Okay guys, story time." Sadie began. "And Riley, I know you asked me to not tell them, but I've just got to. So last year, at like, June, Chad Valdez was having that big party at his house. And Riley got invited and asked me to go with her, so I did, but she totally ditched me right after we got there. And I found her-"

A hundred thousand memories came back at once. I had totally blocked out that night, but it came back to me like a blow to the head. I stood up suddenly from the table we were sitting at in the food court and grabbed my bag.

"Sadie." I said sharply. "I'm just gonna go. I'll see you later."

The girls were quiet. I had not doubts that she was just going to tell them, which made me rigid, but I couldn't stay there and listen.

I felt abandoned, and tired.

My car still had the dent in it.

I wished Luke would just leave.

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**Luke's POV.**

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I was sitting in the Valente's living room, sprawled out on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and whoppers in my hands. Jess was on the floor, eating a piece of pizza. The Conjuring was playing. There were about seventeen different 2 liter bottles of soda on the counter, and half of them were empty.

Guys night.

We'd been in the dark living room since 4:00. When the door opened, it was 11:00. Our parents were supposed to have been in Salem until noon the next day, and Riley was staying at one of her friends houses, so you could say I was pretty confused. Add to that, we'd already watched Insidious 1 and 2, and were hopped up on enough sugar to power a couple football teams. Jess and I were high strung.

We jumped up and moved towards the kitchen. Jess grabbed the fire extinguisher from the cupboard under the kitchen sink, and I grabbed an umbrella. Moving around the walls and the shadows, we heard the person getting closer.

Then, it was right there in front of us.

Jess and I screamed at the top of our lungs. The fire extinguisher was dropped, and I hit the first thing I could, which happened to be the wall. Riley screamed.

I threw my umbrella on the ground and cursed. "Are you _kidding me?! " _I shouted, at her. "Why are you here?!"

Jess had turned on the light and was laughing. Riley wiped under her eyes and turned away from us. Was she crying?

"Are you seriously crying cause we scared you?" I said sarcastically. She shook her head, and moved past me.

"Just leave me alone." She muttered, on her way to her bedroom. I waited a couple seconds before following her. I don't know what it was- curiosity or maybe just a little bit of small town morality peeking through, but I felt like I needed to know what was going on.

She went into her room and set her bag down on her bed, opening her closet door. I leaned against the frame in the doorway, and crossed my arms.

"What happened? I thought you were staying at Bailey's house tonight."

"Brooke." She corrected, pulling out pajamas.

"Yeah. Anyway...?"

She walked over to her vanity and leaned forward, looking at her face in the mirror.

"Sadie told them about Chad's party last year."

Oh god. Great.

There weren't many things that I actually felt bad about. But that night was one of them. I knew Riley would probably never tell me the full story, and I'd always want to know. But I'd always be embarrassed about what I'd done. I walked up to her and touched her shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

She nodded, and looked up at her reflection. Her makeup was smeared, her hair was ruffled, and her face was red.

"Me too."

**A/N**

**Ooh mystery. How's life? Mine sucking a little, but hey, it's almost Christmas! I'm so, so, ****_so _****ready for some holiday crap. I ****_love _****Christmas. What's your favorite holiday?**

**Anyway, this is one of my favorite chapters. It's really short, but it opens up some stuff that'll be important! And it shows Luke isn't ****_always _****an a-hole. So stick around, and I promise you'll love it!**

**Forever yours,**

**-Icy**


	5. Chapter Four

Luke

**_(Let's Get Moving) Into Action- Skye Sweetnam_**

Bacon. God, I'd missed Jules bacon.

It was late in the afternoon on Saturday, and Jess and I hadn't woken up. We were passed out on the couch, after staying up most of the night, wondering if some demon kid was gonna come and kill us.

Yeah. It happens.

But Jules knew how to wake up two guys the right way. Thirty feet away, some great stuff was happening.

I stumbled over to the counter first, throwing a pillow at Jess's head before I got there. He groaned and sat up.

"Good morning." She said cheerily. I looked at the clock. 2:30.

"Yeah." I moaned, lowering my head into crossed arms on the counter. She chuckled and moved busily around the kitchen.

"How was guys night?"

"Good. Did you see Riley?"

She shook her head. "No, I think she's still at Brooke's. She wasn't home this morning."

I nodded. She must've left so her mom wouldn't know about what happened, or wouldn't ask.

The fourteen year old monster crashed in a chair at the end of the counter, reaching for a piece of bread.

"Honey, that's not toasted yet." Jules said. He only let out a groan and ate it. A few minutes later, two giant plates of food were set down in front of us.

"Jules, marry me." I said, eating it down fast. She laughed. "Let me check with my husband."

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I left around 3:00. My parents were taking a nap, giving me enough time to shower and get dressed to leave.

When I'd gotten into my car, I pulled out my phone and called Riley. She answered after a couple rings in a tired voice.

"So you snuck out this morning?" I asked.

"Why- is it so hard to believe?"

"Actually, yeah."

"I just didn't need any questions."

"Uh-huh. So us meeting up and you explaining it to me would be out of the question?"

"Pretty much."

"Where are you, anyway?"

"Why?"

"I've got a couple hours to kill. We could hang out."

"Oh my god, _really?_ Baby I'd love to, but I have to finish tweezing every hair out of my head first."

I rolled my eyes. "Just trying to not be an asshole."

"Don't try things you know you can't do."

"Here's to a little hope."

"Yeah, sure. Bye."

I tossed my phone onto the passenger seat, gripping the wheel tightly. Riley was the most impossible person in the world.

I couldn't believe I had ever wanted her.

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**Riley's POV**

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I looked over at my shoulder. Yup. The Barista Guy was staring me down again.

I'd been at Barnes & Noble's for five hours, and apparently there's only so long you can be there before all of the employees start to hate you.

Feeling bad, I bought a book called, "Insidious Love," To put with my bad book collection.

I'd started it when I was 13, adding a few books every year. There were titles like, "The first kiss," "The last kiss," "Summer loving, and the best one. "My hunky lover."

I had gotten into my car and driven to the mall a couple of blocks away, and got the call from Luke as I was walking inside. It had put me in a weird mood that I couldn't explain.

He was just so frustrating.

There was a manicure place on my left, and without even thinking about it, I went inside. After that, the hair salon. I got a massage, too. And seven shopping bags later, I'd spent a lot of money that wasn't there to spend.

But sometimes, you've just give in to your girly urges.

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"Riley, please call me back. I'm sorry. I didn't tell them- I swear. And I never should've brought it up. Please- just call me."

Sadie had left a dozen voicemails, and this was the first one I'd listened to. I sighed, and flipped through my contacts, finding hers right above Luke's. I remembered the time we'd gone to get my first phone. I was twelve, and he was fifteen. For the longest time, I wouldn't let his number go into my phone. Our parents thought it was ridiculous, but I didn't care- I just couldn't stand to have his name by my friend's names.

But when I was fourteen, Jess fell off a swing and broke his leg. All of our parents had gone out for a movie night, so their phones were off. I didn't have Luke's, so I had to run over to his house and get him. After that, I was always so scared something was going to happen I kept his number in my phone. End of annoying story. Okay.

"I'm _so sorry." _Those were the first words Sadie said to me.

"I know." I said quietly. She talked endlessly into the phone about how she'd never bring it up again, and was a jealous idiot.

"Why were you jealous?"

Her exasperated voice came through the phone saying, "I don't know… I just- I guess it's because any guy who's ever been within arm's length of me has been so gross. And you've got this sexy guy at your house all the time… And it's never bugged me, it was just a weird overreaction or something."

I guessed that made sense.

"Look, are you doing anything tonight?"

"No.."

"Then let's go out for pizza- on me. Anything you want! And we'll go to Toni's."

I smiled. "That sounds great."

"I'll pick you up in an hour, okay?"

"Yup."

I got showered and dressed in some of my new clothes, so ready to talk to somebody.

Being alone all day was more exhausting than I had realized it would be.

**A/N **

**Hey people! So I'm ridiculously, extremely excited. The next two chapters are my favorite, and I can't wait for you to read them! What're your thoughts so far? Confused? I hope so! I love this story, it's my favorite I've written in a long time, and I would love it to be something you love too. (: **

**So review, because hearing from you guys makes me go crazy! I love you!**

**-Icy**


	6. Chapter Five

Luke

**_Wings- Haerts_**

"Oh my _god. _Do they put crack in this?"

"How else would it taste so good?"

I was sitting at a table at Toni's Pizza place. In high school, I'd come here all the time with my guys. After spending a couple days figuring out who was still in town, I'd found five of them that were in Aperio doing nothing, and we decided to go out. Just going back to the way it had been.

There was Drake, a "tortured" artist. "Tortured," meaning he was running out of nude models to paint. He was good, but too perverted to make his work anything close to innocent, which apparently was big in art at the moment. Then, Blaine, who was about as smart as a rock. Chase, the guy who got a girl pregnant in senior year and was now paying for ballet lessons and kid clothes instead of cars and beer. Daniel, the good guy, who hadn't had a drink until he was 21 and had an IQ a couple points above Bill Gates. And lastly, James, who was the player. Almost worse than me, actually.

We'd ordered two giant pizza's and had been at the restaurant for well over an hour. Then, like always, everything went bad.

Riley came in with her friend, Sadie. They looked tense. Sadie, like always, had that badass look to her. She was skin tight jeans, combat boots, and a long sleeved black shirt that hugged her just the right way. Her long, dark blonde hair was in an elaborate hairstyle with red streaks in it, and dark makeup lined her eyes. As weird as she could be sometimes, Sadie was a master at seduction and her confident came off in waves.

Riley looked like an angel compared to her.

She was wearing white. White jeans, pink ballet flats, a loose pink shirt, and a brown jacket. She, like always, had her dark hair hanging down straight, and her face was perfectly plain, but her eyes popped from eyeliner. I couldn't help it when my mouth started to water. God, that girl could look so good sometimes.

"Isn't that Valente?" Drake asked. He was looking her up and down. I shifted in my seat.

"Yeah, it is."

I waved them over. Sadie looked at Riley for a moment, before strutting over. Riley followed suit.

"Hey guys, long time no see." She said, leaning on the chair behind Blaine, who was grinning like an idiot.

"Definitely." James agreed, smiling with a purpose.

I motioned for Riley to come over to me, who was at that point glaring at Sadie.

"What're you doing here. And with _her._" I whispered in her ear. She shook her head.

"Sadie apologized and just offered to take me out to dinner… I didn't know that this was why."

I clenched my teeth and sat back.

"How's it goin', Riley?"

She looked at James and forced a smile. "Pretty good. What about you?"

"_Fantastic."_

It's funny how some people can make anything sound perverted.

The guys and Sadie convinced Riley to sit with us. James pulled a chair in between himself and Blaine, but I pulled one next to me.

"Sit here." I said quietly. She gave me a look. "Trust me." I finished.

A little aggravated, she sat down.

We made it about a half hour before the guys decided they wanted to leave. And where did they wanna go? A club over in Bloomington for 18 and older. Sadie wouldn't have a problem- she was definitely over 18. But Riley was just 17 and didn't look older.

That was when I started to feel weird. Because when I was 17, I snuck into clubs all the time. But I didn't want Riley to be like that. She was smart. She had a future. I didn't want her to screw it up.

So I told her that we weren't going.

And for once- she just said, "Okay."

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**_(SONG CHANGE: Holocene- Bon Iver)_**

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She was crying.

Our parents and Jess were in Washington again, so it was just us in her house, and she couldn't stop crying.

She hadn't said anything on the car ride home. She'd just looked out of the window and stayed quiet, even when I asked her what was going on. It was raining, so I drove up her driveway, left her, and went to my house. I had gotten changed into sweatpants and a hoodie, and was standing in the kitchen when the power flickered twice, and shut off.

I cursed and jumped out of the back door, running over to her house. Riley used to be afraid of storms… I didn't know if she still was.

So that was where I'd found her, sitting on the kitchen floor, staring at a bottle of wine in her hand, like she was fighting herself to drink it, and crying.

I'd taken the bottle, and lit some candles around the house. Everything glowed in the dull light, occasionally lighting up when lightning struck outside.

I'd grabbed a couple blankets and brought them over to her. She had her knees pulled up against her chest and her face was buried in her knees. I pulled a blanket around her shoulders and kneeled down next to her, making myself eye level.

I realized this was one of those exceedingly rare moments when I didn't think of Riley like I usually did. It'd happened when she was being bullied in seventh grade. When her first boyfriend had cheated on her with her best friend. In those moments, she was everything to me, and I was everything to her.

"Riley, what's going on?"

She just kept crying.

"Talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

She looked up, her face stained with tears. I ran my thumb over her cheek, my other hand touching her knee.

"I just- Sadie- she does it every time, and I can't-"

"What's this about? What else did she do?"

She gasped, crying harder. I sat next her, wrapping my arms around her.

"She told me was sorry, and just- she _knew _you were going to be there. And she wants you, and I don't know why."

I ran my fingers through her hair, silently urging her to continue.

"We don't get along," She said. "But we're still close, right?"

I nodded. Her arms found their way around my waist.

"So why does she want to get in the way? Why does she want to ruin everything?"

I didn't get it. Why would me and Sadie being together effect us? So I asked.

"We'd have to take sides. And we'd _never_ not fight after that."

It all made sense after that. She wanted us to be close. She wanted us to be friends. She didn't want us to fight all the time.

When I thought about it, I wanted that too. I wanted every minute to be like that one. Where she was telling me what was going on, and trusted me. And I wanted to trust her the Same way.

"Why do you think we fight?" I asked. She shook her head softly, her fingers stretching. I felt it through my hoodie.

"We were getting better." She said. "Right before you left."

Her face was buried in the crook of my neck, hot breath touching my skin and tears falling down my shirt. I closed my eyes and just breathed. I noticed how soft she was. How good she smelled. She used to smell like this too.

"Are you talking about the party?"

After a minute, she nodded.

"Yeah."

I pulled back, and looked at her in the eyes.

"Riley… Please tell me what happened. I'm not gonna tell anyone."

She closed her eyes, a few more tears falling down her face. I wiped them away.

When she opened them again, I realized how devastated she was. How hurt she was.

"It's about Roy."

**A/N**

**Well. This is it. This is like, my favorite part. Almost.**

**Anyway, I really hope you guys are listening to the songs I list at the beginning while you read! It's the only song I listen to when I write, and it really helps you get in the mood of the chapter- ****_Especially _****this chapter and next chapter. REVIEW! Love you(;**

**-Icy**


	7. Chapter Six

Riley

**_We Can't Stop- Miley Cyrus_**

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**Two Years Earlier: Chad Aker's Party**

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I stepped out of the car feeling amazing. Sadie looked at me from across the car, and we walked inside of the house.

The bass made the building vibrate. People danced against each other, and others made out. I couldn't help but stare for a minute as I passed a couple in the hall making out and dancing at the same time.

"This is cool." Sadie said, smirking. I nodded, trying to make myself believe it.

She got a drink out of the kitchen, but I didn't want to get drunk.

"I'll get one later," I had lied.

After a while, some guy I'd never seen before came up and asked her to dance, leaving me awkwardly by myself. And then, it was my turn.

Roy Mariano. The hottest, most wanted guy in school came up to me. To _me. _And asked me to dance.

And I said no.

It wasn't better judgment. It wasn't even my sense of morality peeking through. It was embarrassment at the thought of me dancing like the people in front of me; grinding on a guy when I'd never had any experience.

He'd laughed and touched my arm. "Then do you wanna go talk?"

I'd nodded and let him guide me from the living room to the kitchen. We sat on stools at the counter and just talked for the longest time before he'd gotten us two sodas from the fridge. I looked at him warily.

"It's clean. Look, it's sealed. Nobody could've spiked it."

God, I was an idiot.

I drank it, and hardly gave it another thought. A little while later, I had another. Then, I had a cup of… whatever the stuff on the counter was. Roy convinced me to dance. And after I'd unknowingly had three cups of vodka, I was fine with it.

He'd seemed so nice. We were standing near the middle of the room with couples all around us grinding and making out, and he was just going slow. He had, step by step, taught me how to grind. He'd turned me around, and pulled me into him. He'd held his hands on my hips and moved my body for me. Sadie had walked by and winked at me suggestively, but I was so drunk I only laughed.

This was my first time drinking, and I was a lightweight. I got drunk _fast._

After a while, I was looking like everyone else. My hands were up in the air, and Roy's had found their way to the front of my thighs, inching closer to my inner thighs by the second. I didn't even think about it.

I don't know why we went out of the living room. He gave me another drink and it was gone in seconds. He told me that we should go into the basement… So we did.

There were a bunch of people making out… And more. I was wide eyed at couples beginning to take off clothes. A bunch of doors were closed. Around the edges of the room. In one corner, there was a group of people sitting in a corner, including Luke and Sadie. Roy led me over to them and we sat on a chair together.

"Truth or dare." Sadie explained, laughing. "You'll crack balls."

I nodded, forcing a laugh.

A couple people went before Sadie was asked how many people she'd… Done it with. She said two.

"Okay, Truth or Dare?" Sadie asked Luke. He grinned drunkenly. '_Weird,'_ I thought. I'd never seen Luke drunk before.

"Dare." He said. She smiled.

"I dare you to _kiss _Riley."

His eyes widened and my jaw dropped.

"And it has to be until the next person's done with their question thingy." She continued. "And none of that pathetic barely lips on lips stuff. You two have a lot of sexual tension, I can feel it." She giggled.

I said something intelligent like, "Umm…" As he walked over. Roy's hands tensed on my hip as Luke squatted down next to me. He, without further warning, met my eyes and touched my throat.

It wasn't my first kiss, but it was my first real kiss. Before, with my first boyfriend, he's only kissed me for a couple seconds. No touching, no tongue, nothing.

I'm sure now that it was the alcohol. But when it was happening, everything felt sober and natural.

He had moved one hand down and was rubbing my arm. I had my hands grabbing his shirt. Everything felt so good.

Then, people started to laugh. Roy coughed. Luke backed away, grinning.

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**_(SONG CHANGE: Atlas- Coldplay) _**

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I started to laugh, the effects of four cups of alcohol washing over me in full effect. The game went on for about twenty minutes before I had to use the restroom.

I went upstairs looking for a bathroom, and didn't find one. So I went further upstairs. I opened doors to a couple rooms and looked inside. On my fifth try, I found one.

After going to the bathroom, I stumbled out and looked around. It was obviously the guest bedroom. There weren't any pictures. The furniture looked dusty and unused, and the bathroom had nothing in it.

"Riley?"

I heard Roy call my name, so I stuck my head out into the hallway.

"Good, you found one."

"Found what?"

He came into the room, took a look around, and shut the door, locking it behind him.

"What're you doing?"

He crashed his lips against my, so hard it almost hurt. I tried to pull away, but he had an iron grip on my waist and neck.

"Roy," I mumbled against his lips. "Roy, stop."

"You'll like it." Was all he said.

He fell on top of me on the bed. I started to panic.

"No, stop. _Stop, Roy."_

He ignored me. It got all the more real when one of his hands went down to undo his belt buckle. I started to scream. He clamped a hand over my mouth and put all of his weight on me.

"Please, oh my god, stop!" I tried to shout through his hand but he wasn't paying attention. He had kicked off his pants and was in his boxers. I started to cry uncontrollably. His hand was still over my mouth, the other touching the buttons on my shorts.

"_Roy, please!"_

He pulled my shorts down, and looked at me. His eyes scared me. This wasn't the nice guy who asked me to dance, this was a drunk guy. This was someone who wanted something I wasn't going to give him, so he decided to take it anyway.

I kicked him.

He groaned, his eyes practically crossing.

"I pulled my shorts up, and unlocked the door, buttoning them as I went. Roy started to chase after me as I ran down the stairs, but I couldn't stay. I found Sadie on the first floor, drinking.

"Take me home," I'd cried. She smiled and laughed.

"What the hell, Riley. I thought you were having fun."

"Roy- he- he just tried-"

"What's going on?"

A soft hand touched my shoulder. I flinched. Luke was standing behind me.

I threw my arms around his neck and cried. He pushed me away softly, wrapping one arm around my waist.

"We're going home." He said.

His friend Daniel drove us. I spent the night at Luke's house, because I didn't want Jess to see me. He let me stay in his bed while he slept on the floor.

That was the first time I'd ever thought about trying to get over our fighting, but it passed. It was just a night.

But it was a night nobody let me forget.

**A/N**

**I'm so sorry for such a late update! I was gone all day! Anyway, hope you enjoy! REVIEW 3**

**-Icy**


	8. Chapter Seven

Luke

**_Scandal of Grace- Hillsong United_**

Things changed.

I knew I was walking on a thing wire when I moved back in with my parents, but I hadn't know exactly how thin. A few days after the night with Riley, they'd given me a sit-down, something I'd grown used to over the years.

I'll spare you the details. The gist of it was, I had to either: A) Get a job, or B) Find another place to live. And since option B meant getting a job to pay for another place anyway, I went job searching. About two seconds later, I was working at the bookstore on the corner of main street.

When I wasn't working, I was sleeping. Which meant not a lot of time to try and talk to Riley, who could hardly look me in the eyes anyway. I felt like such an asshole. I'd always joked around about that party, because if I didn't I thought I'd be more embarrassed. But it must've killed her hearing about it. I didn't blame her for hating me, but I started to wish she wouldn't.

It wasn't like I was falling for her, I just wasn't angry anymore. No matter what I heard about her, nothing made me mad. Nothing made me frustrated- it was all good.

It was getting colder by the day. It was always below freezing, and using in the single digits. Halfway through November, it was snowing all the time. Records were being broken daily, making some paranoid people stock up on food- including Jules. Something about a scary winter when she was a kid.

Basically, my life had gone into an annoying pattern of sleep: work: sleep: sleep: work: sleep: shop: work: sleep.

It had been a week since I'd even seen Riley, let alone talked to her, when our parents decided to have dinner at their house. I'd been at work when I'd gotten the text, and was to it since I got off a half hour after they'd started.

I pulled into our driveway and ran over to their house, so I wouldn't have to move the car after dinner. It was snowing again, and the wind was howling. I jumped inside, closing the door behind me. I felt nervous.

"Luke? Is that you?"

"No, it's a burglar."

I kicked off my shoes and walked inside, pulling my coat off as I went. The house was warm and smelled great, making my mouth water after a long day.

There were two seats open. One, at the end of the table next to Jess, or one next Riley.

I sat next to her, surprising everyone but us.

"How's it going?" I asked Jess. He shrugged, touching his food with his fork.

"Okay."

I looked at him for a minute before turning to Riley as the conversation moved on.

"What…?" I began, whispering. She leaned closer, her shoulder brushing mine as she whispered, "His girlfriend broke up with him." I nodded leaning forward and serving myself some food.

For the first time in the history of our dinners, we made it through without a single fight between Riley and I. Without my dad glaring at me. And without Jess telling a single joke.

But we still hadn't talked. Riley and I- we'd sometimes have conversations that'd cross, but we didn't _talk. _So afterwards, when she went to clean up, I followed after.

"Hey." I said quietly, walking up beside her at the sink. She smiled faintly started washing dishes, and handing them to me.

For the first time in a long, long time, I didn't know what to say to a girl. I had so much going through my head that I couldn't verbalize, it was hard to say anything. I settled on the safest way.

"Riley- I'm sorry."

She looked up at me, surprised. "For what?"

"For everything, you know. I just- I don't know. I've been all over your case about things that don't matter, and it's just stupid, and I can't-"

"Me too." She admitted, handing me another dish. I turned around and leaned my back against the counter, drying it absentmindedly.

"There's just a lot I feel like I should say." I continued.

"You don't have to."

"But I _want _to."

She stopped, and dried her hands, turning to face me.

"I'd never really thought about… Us." I began. "But I did that night. I did a lot. And I wish I could've just done a nice thing and let it go, but I was so freaked out because that kiss- drunk or not- meant a lot. And I knew it didn't mean anything to you-"

"You're right." She interrupted. "It didn't. But I think it does now."

I smiled sheepishly. "And I've been thinking a lot in the past couple of weeks, because I don't want to go back to the way we were. You- It's just that, you mean a lot to me. You always meant a lot to me, just not like you do now."

She bit her lip, nodding.

"I don't know where I'm going with this…" I finished. God, I think it was the first time I'd ever blushed over a girl.

"I do."

I nodded and waited a minute before slowly turning around and setting the plate down.

"Hey Riley?" I said without making eye contact.

She said back, "Yeah?"

"Do you wanna go out sometime?"

She bumped me with her hip, looking at me with a big smile.

"You're gonna have to try harder than that, Luke."

**A/N**

**AKHFKAHDKFJAHSIEURTHWIJNREKJQ OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG.**

**I did it. Yup, this is my favorite part. Yup. Yup. Yeah. Yup. Writing this chapter was the absolute freaking ****_cha, _****and I'm so happy to put it up. Tell me what you think! OMG I'm so happy!**

**AKSFD91324KRLJDSFIGJ0134WJRALSKJFOIASJE5R093JRASDFIOEUR59034JSJGFISJGF9UW435JTSG.**

**So ANYWAY. Now that I'm past getting all excited and-**

**LKAJDFOIU98W34HTRKAJLFKDJAHFSD90J5TSA**

**Gosh. Fine, I'm done. Love you. Haha. Review babies! LOVE YOU**

**-Icy**


	9. Chapter Eight

Riley

**_Curl Up & Die- Reliant K_**

I was falling for him, and it scared me.

There, in front of me, was a guy who'd only caused me trouble. Who, for my life up until that point, had tormented me. Had made fun of my every move, and tortured me. I'd seen him go through girls faster than anyone, and had walked in on many a nights with a girl.

But I couldn't help it. I had to sit back and think _this is actually happening. _

Luke had gotten this obsession with making my day- every day. I'd go on, thinking I'd ride the bus, and he'd pick me up. He'd find a way to leave a flower and a note in my locker. He'd pick me up from school. He'd make me dinner whenever he had time.

But no matter what, he wouldn't kiss me.

I asked him why, once. He only smiled and said, "I'll kiss you the day you let me take you out."

So, after a while of him being absolutely perfect, I said yes.

He said it was going to be a surprise, and I went along with it.

And it was just too perfect.

I'd gotten home from school on a particularly crappy day, wanting to take a nap. But when I got there, I went into my room and found a note on my bed.

_Riley,_

_Meet me at the bookstore at 8:00. Wear something comfy. Can't wait for that kiss._

_-Luke_

I stared at it, reading the three sentences over and over again. That was it?

But it was just right.

I took a nap, and woke up at 6:00. I didn't eat dinner, I only took a shower and got ready. Outside, it was freezing cold. The thermostat in my car said it was 15 degrees, which I agreed with entirely. The drive to the store was quiet, with only some 80s classics playing. It was dark outside, which made me tired.

But I really didn't care.

I got to the store and knocked on it twice before Luke opened the door. He was wearing jeans, a sweater, and his grey vans that he always wore. His blonde hair looked incredibly sexy. I just wanted to run my fingers through it.

His eyes were frozen at the top of my head.

"Oh my god, what is that?"

I touched the tassels hanging down at my ears.

"It's a hat."

"It's a _cat._"

"Yup."

"That's cute."

He came up and tugged on them, leaning in to kiss me. I smiled and closed my eyes, readying myself for Luke.

"Come on, it's gonna get cold."

I opened my eyes. His lips had stopped right in front of mine, and his eyes were inches away. He kissed my nose, helping me out of my coat. He then continued to jump up the spiral stairs and disappear around a corner.

"Mrs. Brisbane let me have the place till midnight, so we're good until then."

"What're we gonna do in a bookstore for four hours?" I asked, half curious, half scared.

His head peeked behind the bookshelf, looking at me.

"I didn't know you had such a dirty mind."

"Just asking." I said defensively, blushing.

He came up and wrapped his arms around me, laughing. "Really though, come here. You'll love this."

He took my hand and walked around the corner, and I gasped.

There was a projector pointing at the wall, a couch in the corner, a ton of blankets, pillows, and candy.

"This is great." I said, half laughing. "This is really, really great."

He smiled hugely. "Good."

And it only got better.

We sat down and he popped in The Wizard of Oz- my favorite.

"You hate this movie." I said, leaning against him. He shrugged.

"Maybe I just said that…"

I slapped a pillow against his chest. "You didn't."

He smirked. "I did."

Using a bowl of popcorn as my savior, I curled up and watched the movie with new eyes. Luke's arm went around me, making me relax. Everything was good.

Everything was right.

Everything was perfect.

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I'd fallen asleep around the end of the movie, and woke up when I felt something soft touch my temple.

"Babe, it's almost twelve. We've got to go, okay?"

I nodded sleepily, sitting up straight. At some point, I'd leaned over so my head was in his lap and my feet were curled up on the couch. He stood above me and smiled, holding out his hands to help me up. I took advantage of that and let him pull me up from the couch, stumbling into his arms. He hugged me, rocking back and forth.

"You know what?" I said tiredly. He tilted his head and looked at me.

"You never got that kiss." I teased.

Oh yes he did.

He touched my waist, his lips meeting mine halfway. I got to run my fingers through his hair. I felt so lucky. I told him that. He shook his head.

"No. Believe me, I'm the lucky one."

I kissed him again, before we got into my car. He drove us home, telling me he'd pick up his in the morning. I asked if he wanted to come over, and he told me he shouldn't. It would be different with me.

He was changing.

**A/N**

**Heck yeah he's changing. **

**Anyhow, I am extremely excited! Just finished writing chapter seventeen today, and only have six more and the epilogue! Yay! What are you all thinking? Who's your favorite- Riley or Luke? Riley's my favorite. She's been through crap and still is awesome. I mean, I like writing for Luke but I ****_love _****writing for Riley! **

**My school had snow days Friday and today, and it's going to snow tonight so there's the chance that I may be able to stay home and write more… Which would be lovely. How 'bout this- if I stay home tomorrow, I'll post an extra chapter (: Deal! **

**Last thing… It's important… And I'm sure all 14 of my followers will review with their answers (;**

**Do you want a sequel? I could finish this all happy (or sad) and be done, or I could grab it and run. I'd probably post it in either April, May, or June and do a 30 chapter one for every day of the month. Well it's an idea (:**

**So review with…. A) Your favorite character, and B) Sequel or no sequel? **

**Love you!**

**-Icy**


	10. Chapter Nine

Luke

**_Can't Stand It- Never Shout Never_**

I'd never been in a real relationship.

All throughout high school, I'd date a girl for a week. Then, it'd be over.

But there I was, not even dating Riley, and I felt like I was in a relationship. Which was funny, because I wasn't panicking. Everything felt right.

It was mid December. Christmas season was up in full swing, meaning the bookstore was crowded a lot of the time, meaning I worked. A lot.

Riley and Jess were edging towards winter break, but they had mid terms so even when I did see Riley in the evenings, she was studying.

I'd slept over a couple of times. We hadn't done anything, obviously, but it was relaxing. For the night, we'd just lay there, listening to each other breathe and recharge. I can't describe it the way I want to, because it's something you have to experience for yourself to understand.

Our families were catching on that something was up. We still argued, but it was always settled pretty fast. We always were at each other's houses, whenever the other person was home. I wouldn't talk about her to my parents; and she wouldn't talk to hers about me.

She was changing me, making me feel different. I didn't think about leaving as much, and always had her in my thoughts. I didn't know where we were going, but she always seemed to know exactly what was going to happen. It drove me crazy, but was addicting.

My favorite day was the last Friday before their winter break would start. I had worked until five, and Riley was supposed to be at Brooke's after school until the next day, coming home at noon, when I would work from 10-6.

I'd come home and dialed up Toni's, ordering a huge pizza. Dad's work had a Christmas banquet, so the two of them wouldn't be home.

After changing into a pair of sweatpants & T-shirt, and flipping the TV onto Die Hard, the pizza came and I was all good.

It'd been a long day. Sue me.

An hour into the movie, someone knocked on the door and it opened.

Riley walked in, smiling. "Hey stranger."

I moved over to her and kissed her quickly.

"What're you doing here? I thought you were going to Brooke's."

"Her brother surprised them and is visiting them for the weekend, so I decided to come home."

I gave her a big smiled and kissed her again, this time picking her up.

"Why do you taste like pizza?" She laughed and wrapped around my neck. I walked back over to the couch, showing her the box.

"So what'd you wanna do?" I said, heading back to my room to get changed. Surprisingly, she followed.

"It's nice out," She pointed out. "We could go into town."

I made a face and reached in my drawer for a pair of jeans.

"Babe, I've been in town all day."

She laid down on my bed, her face buried in my pillow.

"We could go on a drive."

I pulled off my shirt and leaned against my dresser for a second. "I know. Go to your place and get in some warm clothes."

She looked at me strangely. "What are we gonna do?"

"Trust me." I said, pulling a thin, white shirt on to wear under my hoodie. She gave me a small smiled before heading over to her place.

She was gonna love this.

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And I was right.

She sat next to me on the rickety old bench, wide eyed at the sun.

"This place is incredible."

I nodded, watching the lake in front of us make these perfect waves up on the grass lining it. It was called Ogle for a reason.

"How long have you known about this place?" She asked. I shrugged, looking around.

"Remember that time when we had that big fight after Jess's 10th birthday party, and everyone got mad?"

She nodded.

"I came here. I parked my car in that place," I pointed to the spot on the end. "And I stayed up all night."

"That was the first time you left."

It took me a minute to recognize the pain in her voice.

"That was back when you didn't care though." I pointed out. "Back when I didn't care."

With a nervous sigh, she shook her head. "Just because I didn't like you doesn't mean I didn't care. It hurt, you know? I was thinking, 'it's my fault.' The whole time."

"It was never your fault."

"Maybe it was."

"I never blamed you for anything I did. What I did… it was a problem. It was my fault for letting it get bad."

"I pushed you too hard."

She had tears in her eyes, but couldn't look at me. I hated that she couldn't look at me.

"If we hadn't fought, maybe you wouldn't have tried to kill yourself."

I let out a slow, deep breath and wrapped my arms around her.

"I just- I know I pushed you over the edge," She continued. "It was my fault."

God, Riley. I wished I could've made you understand. It was never your fault. _Never._

"Please say something." She said. I shook my head.

"I don't know what to say. It just wasn't you. It was me. I wasn't strong, I was a coward. I wasn't brave. I didn't want to face my problems, so I tried something stupid."

I moved in front of her, kneeling in front of her.

"I've never been more thankful that I was wrong."

She ran her fingers through my hair, and touched my neck. I closed my eyes and wished I could make her be happy again.

But we just sat there, fingers crossing and forehead touching, both living under shadows that we didn't know existed.

**A/N**

**I KNOW. I know, I suck. A lot.**

**I had a snow day on Tuesday, and I was totally ready to post, but I got in a fight with my sister over a cookie sheet and long story short, my laptop got taken away until today. So sorry! I'm getting ready to post the next chapter in 3 seconds, I swear. Love you! Review!**

**-Icy**


	11. Chapter Ten

Riley

**_Sweater Weather- The Neighborhood_**

And then it was January, and everything was changing.

My life had turned from crazy to insane, with every day becoming more and more stressful.

I'd go to school and come home with more homework than I could handle. There, on the counter, would be dozens of college pamphlets for schools of architecture, and another stack of applications. Then, on my door, my mom would stick post it note reminders like, "Don't forget- your dad and I left for Franklin today," Which I'd totally forgotten in the first place.

On the weekends, almost every weekend, I was touring colleges around the state, which left absolutely no time for Luke.

I thought about going to a school in Seattle. It was within a couple of states over, and was less than 4 hours from home, so I could come home a weekend a month, and had them to call for emergencies. The school I liked was cheap, too, so in a lot of ways it was the most convenient. It was the one everyone was pushing for.

But Luke was telling me that I needed to go further. Go to New York. Go to Florida. Go to LA.

I couldn't go to LA, though. I'd only be thinking of how he was there, escaping everyone.

Including me.

No one knew, but I was deciding between either Chicago or Seattle. Chicago was pricier, but a better school by far. It was so much farther away too. I mentioned that to Luke once. He told me, "Good. It wouldn't be a safety net."

He made me feel like picking that school would be brave. That I was brave.

And after doing homework for hours at a time, the door would eventually open, and he'd come inside, telling me to go to bed. That everything would take care of itself by tomorrow. We both knew it wasn't true, but he calmed me down and helped me relax. Focusing? Not so much with him around, but overall he helped more than he didn't.

After two months of pathetically attempted hiding, my mom caught us making out in my basement, which made all hell break loose. Rules were set, which were almost always broken, and Jess was appointed our official referee, which he held over our heads all the time.

I guess I was relieved. Luke didn't seem to be going anywhere, and I was happy when I was with him, but I was so busy all the time, and when I wasn't, he was.

I wished for two seconds alone with him, but it never seemed to come.

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"Riley, you're hooking up with Luke."

I looked up from my tray at my lunch table. Sadie was leaning against the edge, staring me down with a smirk on her face. Isabel, who had the same lunch as us, look up and glared.

"Just leave her alone, Sadie."

She continued to stare at me. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "Where'd you hear that?"

"Lucy Carson saw you making out with someone in the park, and she said it looked like him. So you're with him now?"

I said no. She laughed. _Laughed._

"That's so pathetic. I really expected better of you."

"I said I'm not."

She rolled her eyes and with the smack of her lips, walked away.

"What was that?" Isabel asked. "She's such a freak."

I looked down at my tray.

"Wait- Riles, are you?"

I met her eyes, shaking my head. "We're not hooking up."

She leaned forward. "But do you like him? Are you guys like, close? You haven't seemed to fight in a while."

I felt guilty. Here I was, in the first (kind of) relationship in over a year, and I wasn't telling one of my best friends.

I was a jerk. I had to tell her.

"We're… close, yeah. He's different now."

She smiled- really big. "Are you serious?"

I nodded, not being able to stop the small smile that emerged.

"How close?"

I blushed. "Well, we've kind of been going out.."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"I'm sorry, Is. I didn't know how. Are you mad?"

"You think I'm _mad? _God, no Riles. That's amazing, I'm happy for you. Just keep me updated, okay?

I smiled back. "I promise."

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"I'm officially holding you hostage." I said, walking through the doorway of the bookstore. Luke grinned at me from behind the counter.

"Really?"

"Really. When'd you last eat?"

He looked up at the ceiling, thinking. "Uh, breakfast? It's been busy."

"It's January."

"Okay, I haven't been hungry."

I moved over to the counter, grabbing the company phone and punching in the number I'd grown to know by heart.

"Happy Panda? Yeah, it's Riley. I need triple order of my usual, as fast as you can make it."

He kissed me. "You're pretty freaking great."

I pretended to be modest before kissing him back.

"I know."

There weren't any customers in the next two hours until they closed, giving us a great opportunity to just be us. We watched You tube on the computer and ate Chinese good, making a perfect fourth date.

I didn't know it'd be the last one I'd ever get with Luke Moreau.

**A/N**

**OMG NEXT CHAPTER IS IT. OMG GUYS I CAN'T- AHH. **

**-CRAZY PANTS**


	12. Chapter Eleven

Luke

**_Canvas- Imogen Heap_**

"Where to?"

"Just drive."

I looked at a red faced Riley in the passenger seat of my car, trying to just be quiet, which I managed to do for about a minute before I got frustrated.

"Why are you mad? Why'd you call?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now." She muttered, settling down in her seat and glaring forward.

"C'mon, I-"

"Luke."

"I left work to come pick you up. I think it's fair that you tell me why- or is that too hard?"

She huffed and refocused her glaring at me.

"You know what- never mind, just let me out."

"Are you forgetting the part where I said I left work? You're staying in the car. Where are we going?"

She crossed her arms. "Toni's."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I just thought of it. What- it isn't good enough for you?"

"I didn't say that. God Riley. Why are you in such a bad mood?"

"Who says I'm in a bad mood? Maybe you're being irritable."

"I'm not being irritable."

"More irritable than me."

I rolled my eyes and tried to focus on the road until we got there. She got out of the car, slamming the door behind her, and made a beeline for the door.

"Be careful with my car, Riley. I can't pay for repairs right now."

"How can't you? You work a_ll the time."_

I locked the car and went in a minute after her, trying to regain my cool.

"What's wrong." I said, sitting down across from her. She looked away, scowling.

"Maybe I don't want to talk about it. Maybe I just want you to be supporting."

"Maybe I feel like I deserve to know."

"Maybe I don't."

What, like I wasn't good enough for her now? We ordered water and went back to glaring at each other until I got sick of the silence.

"Riley, you're being an idiot. What's wrong."

She scoffed. "Cause girls love their boyfriends to call them idiots. Stop being a jerk."

"_I'm _a jerk?"

"Yeah, you are."

I leaned back in my seat, rolling my eyes again. "This is ridiculous._"_

She said nothing. We made it about five more minutes before I pulled out a five, left it on the table, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her out of the restaurant.

"Tell me what's going on." I demanded harshly once we were outside. She shook her head.

"You don't understand!" She shouted. "You couldn't understand what this is like for me!"

"Understand _what?"_

"Everything! College, family, school, scholarships!" She paused, regaining her breath. "You."

I took a step forward pointing my finger at her. "If that was all that was wrong, I'm gonna be really pissed. Cause that's life. You think I didn't deal with that? You think I didn't understand? Imagine all that times, like, twelve. I was depressed when I was graduating. I had C's, so no scholarships. I was falling for you- a _sophomore. _My parents hated me. I was _suicidal. _And you're mad because you can't decide between two colleges?"

She flinched as I took a step forward. I stopped, looking at her in the eyes.

"That's pathetic." I spit out. She shook her head.

"I'm not you, Luke. Some people can just handle it. I can't, okay? This is too much! I just- I can't deal with this anymore! I thought I could, but then _you _happened, and-"

"Oh, so now this is my fault?"

"I'm not saying that exactly, but I just- You're just this pressure on me _all the time, _and-"

"I lo- I mean, I _thought _I loved you, but maybe that was just your attempts at seducing me."

"I was seducing _you?"_

"You were in_ love_ with me."

She shook her head, clenching her jaw. Her nose was red, just like it always was when she was mad. "No, you loved _me."_

"Is that really what you thought?"

There was a silence that was speaking volumes. It was broken by a deep breath of shaky air.

"You're such an _asshole_. That's all you've been, and that's all you're ever gonna be. You can't even fix yourself at this point- this is all you ever _could _be. People are leaving you, and you don't even get why. So you really wanna know what I think? I'm _never_ gonna love anyone like you. I _hate _you. I think you need to go screw yourself. Get out of here, or stay, but I don't care. Just stay out of my life."

I was tense. My head was pounding, and my fists were shaking. Riley turned around and stormed back into the restaurant. It was really cold outside, getting colder by the minute. I got in my car.

Her words were echoing in my mind. _"I'm never gonna love anyone like you. I hate you."_

I _had _loved her. But I'd screwed up worse than I ever had before, and I wasn't going to get her back. And this was going to ruin everything. I couldn't escape her. I couldn't go home and see everything and just.. ignore it. I had to leave, but I couldn't move on.

So I drove.

I sped down the back roads, snow falling steadily as I went. It piled up on the sides of the road alarmingly fast. After a while, I got to where I needed to be.

Lake Ogle.

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I slept in my car again, pulling out my blanket and curling up in the back. I'd blasted the heat all the way there to get enough in to last a couple of hours, but as usual, the heat leaked out pretty fast. At around five o'clock the next morning, I couldn't take it. I had to get the heat on.

I jumped into the front seat, turning on my car. My fingers were numb, and my skin felt thick with goose bumps. After thinking for a minute, I decided to go to Jasper, a town a couple hundred miles away. It was the only place around I'd never gone with her.

But my plans changed when I'd turned on my headlights. Out, about thirty feet onto the lake, I saw someone.

They were waving their arms, moving towards me. I panicked for a minute, wondering who it could've been. Then, I saw another figure pop out from the ice.

Someone had fallen through.

Growing up in a place where lakes were all around you, you were taught ice safety as often as bus safety. It was a common issue. Three people died in the first semester of my freshman year of high school- in Aperio, population 400, and that was a good year for us, with eight total deaths relative to hypothermia through lake or pond accidents.

I jumped out of my car and ran down to the safety shed. I grabbed a spud bar- a long wooden stick with a spike on the end. We used it to test the ice around us as we walked.

It was a girl, who looked around thirty. She had long, red hair the fell out of her hood, and looked unnervingly calm.

"My friend fell. We were trying to cross, and he fell in. Please- help."

I nodded and moved closer to where he was. I poked the ice, praying that it'd stay.

When I got around five feet away from the hole, I got on my stomach. The guy in the water was thrashing around wildly, his eyes wide and totally afraid. I slide the bar across the ice and over the hole, creating something for him to grab onto.

"C'mon man, just grab it!" I shouted, trying to be heard. He didn't even notice.

I moved closer, pointing at the bar. "You have to pull yourself out." I said, feeling a little more edgy. He stared at me, moving his arms back and forth.

I moved closer.

I wasn't ready for this guy to die in front of me. I needed him to listen.

After a minute of him thrashing around some more and me and the woman shouting directions to him, he finally caught on and grabbed the pole. His fingers looked red and raw with the cold. He held onto it with both hand, climbing forward.

He was inches within grasp of the edge when the ice under me let out a painful crack, and I went down into the cold blackness.

My eyes shot open, looking around. The water burnt like nothing I'd ever felt before. I remembered what all of those teachers had taught us.

_"__Look for the hole in the ice."_

But I couldn't see anything. I finally swam in one direction, only to realize I was swimming down.

_"__Don't panic. Stay calm at all times."_

Easier said than done. My lungs began to burn and I was tensing up. The freezing water burnt every inch of my skin.

Eventually, my vision just went black.

I was out.

I was gone.

**A/N Okay. Go YouTube the song listed at the beginning and read it again, then finish reading my notes, okay? Okay (:**

** …****.**

** …****.**

** …****.**

**Done? Good! I had such a blast when I was writing this chapter. You'll eventually forgive Riley for being such a b****. She had something really bad happen. So don't be all hating on her, okay? Something did happen, she wasn't just PMS-ing or anything! **

**I'm so excited for Christmas, it's in 13 days! (: But at the same time, I'm sad because that means I'm gonna be done with this story ): I decided…. DUH DUN DUH…. THERE'S GONNA BE A SEQUEL. YUP.**

**It's going to go up June 1****st**** and go for 30 days. I'm ****_so _****excited. It's not even funny how excited I am. Okay, maybe it is. But I'm ****_SO FREAKING EXCITED!_**

******Anyway…. Did anybody watch the winter finale of Once Upon A Time: In Wonderland? OMG. So. Good. Perfect ending. I'd definetly recommend you watch it! The epsidodes are on ABC family or . **

**Thanks for all the follows, favorites, and reviews! I am a review monster! Nom, nom! (:**

**-Icy**


	13. Chapter Twelve

Luke

**_Breathe Me- Sia_**

Death was a blackness. It was a 10th, no, a 100th of my consciousness. It was an ever present feeling that if I fell into the darkness and let it overtake me, I'd be gone- even more than I already was. I wasn't a ghost, but I wasn't alive, and I definitely wasn't all the way gone.

Death was an awakening. It was small thought processes moving back and forth. Flashbacks to when I was a kid. Small sentences people had said to me. It was a challenge to remember who.

_"__You're a disappointment."_ My father.

_"__You're a mistake."_ My enemies.

_"__You're mine."_ Riley.

But mostly, death was a constant reminder of the life I'd never get to live.

So I waited. I waited in the blackness, only a small piece of me hanging on. I waited for a light. I waited for a calling.

It came.

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Ice was all around me, slick and smooth. Snow fell onto me in thick flakes. Frost coated me.

The cold was comfortable.

That should've been my first realization. Before I'd remembered that I was dead. Before I'd realized I was seeing light for the first time in who-knew-how-long. But it came right after I opened my eyes and saw nothing but white.

I sat up.

On the walls of the open roof dome surrounding me were pictures. They covered every inch of the walls, and made me full with curiosity. They all looked similar- white-ish blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin. Some wore animal fur coats. Others- white jackets. Most had leather coats on. Their clothes weren't what weirded me out, though.

They all had the same look in their eyes. It was this determined, bright look, but made you want to look away, as if you were invading their privacy. They looked like they had spent their life going through hell. Like they'd stared down death, and heartbreak, and come out the champion. They met your eyes with the intimidating determination of a warrior.

I felt like cowering, but there was no place to go. I stood, turning in a circle, trying to take in all of the pictures at once. They all seemed to be staring at me.

I could've walked out- but I was too busy thinking. There were three arch-like doorways in the dome, held up my rounded pillars. It looked Roman. Why was there a Roman dome in Aperio? Was I still in Aperio? Was I in heaven? God, no. I'd be in hell- if there were heaven and hell. Was God watching me? Was I his personal joke? Was he letting me come back to life?

"Luke. I've been waiting for you."

I spun around. Where there had been no one a minute ago, a man leaned against the wall.

"Who are you." I said quickly, rubbing the back of my neck. It had started to ache around the base of my head.

"You should be asking yourself the same question." He responded coolly. I took in his appearance. He had on a long, brown fur coat, a button up tan shirt, a pair of skinny jeans, and combat boots. His gloves were black and leather, and I couldn't tell what his eyes looked like because they were covered with aviator sunglasses. Judging by his facial appearance, he looked around 30. But after I focused for a minute, he looked older. His black hair grayed. He looked fifty- at _least. _

"What? I'm- I'm Luke. Moreau, Luke Moreau." I said. Aviators smirked.

"You sure? You don't sound sure."

"I'm sure."

"Eh. _Wrong." _He took off his glasses, and I was a little thrown off by his green eyes. I mean- they were _really _green.

"What?"

He stepped forward. Once he was four feet away, I took a couple steps back. Something about this guy made me uncomfortable. He had this untouchable look to him- and I couldn't pin his age. After taking off his glasses, he looked young. Like, _my _age.

"You know, the last guy I talked to was naked. This makes it a whole lot easier."

I looked down. I had on my clothes from that night- a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a hoodie. They were stained and had dried algae on them, but they were alright for having someone die in them.

God. This whole, '_me dying'_ thing, was blowing over my head too easy.

"What do you mean- the last guy?"

"The last one. The last Jack."

"Jack?"

He nodded, grinning. "Yup," He said, popping the 'P' on the end. "Jack Frost. That's you- by the way."

He grabbed my arm and guided me out of the dome, and into the wintery forest, not giving me a chance to think.

"I'm Kairos."

"Kairos?"

"Ancient word for Time. That's what most people call me. _But, _since we're about to be all buddy-buddy for the next millennia or so, you can call me my real name. "

"Which is…?"

"Jace. Or, it was before I fell off the clock tower."

"What?"

"It was under construction back then. It's called the big Ben now, in England."

Oh my god. I wasn't God's personal joke.

I was his entire laughing act.

**A/N**

**Hey! So where were you guys last night? I only got one review…. Not that I'm sad or anything…. I only cried for two hours…**

**:'( **

**So… Review? Love you (:**

**-Icy**


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Luke

**_The Bad in Each Other- Feist; Midnight City- M83_**

It'd be pointless to explain everything after that. Weeks after living with Jace, I still didn't get it. So I'll skip ahead to when I started to understand

It was almost a month exactly after I'd woken up- or, as Jace put it, been 'Reborn' as Jack. He tried to explain it at a scientific perspective- which he failed epically at. Since I didn't have religion, it should have been easier to explain anything, I guess, but he still failed. Basically, it was this.

At some point in the history of humanity, people started being born with untouched abilities. They were in the back of their mind making up a lot of the 90% of the brain we don't use. They were passed down with the rest of their genes when they had kids, and eventually different abilities would cross. Society lifted up the figures and called them Father Time. Mother Nature. The Sandman. _Jack Frost._

Up until that point, they acted as negative charges. But when two different negative charges touched, bam. A positive right there. That was what activated the abilities in us, creating super people, if you wanna call it that.

Once you were elected a potential guardian and died, you'd be in a "waiting room." They'd wait there until the other Jacks had been either destroyed (long, confusing story for another time), or "fired." Fired meaning, their powers revoked by the other guardians as a whole. When that'd happen to a Jack, there'd be a long, painful process involving burial and amputation and spirits to get you so you wouldn't come back- ever. It sounded like a load of bull, but I didn't want that to happen to me.

For thousands of years, they were accepted. _We _were accepted. But there was a war.

What most historians don't tell you about the 2nd World War is the reason it'd happened. Japan had captured Jace, and were holding him captive in exchange for the Sand Man. They called him, "The ultimate weapon." Go into battle and have your enemies fall asleep at your feet? Perfect.

But as they held Jace, they started experimenting with him. They realized his power to stop time itself- which was way better than they could've done with the Sand Man. They stopped time and came to America. Jace fought back, giving us enough of himself to defeat Japan. He was free. But the world wasn't the same after that.

The Guardians went into hiding- creating the prison that we all lived in now: Invisibility. They'd somehow figured out how, and supposedly no one could undo it. I was stuck, making everything freeze, and watching people live a life I'd wanted.

And my last good deed? A _test. _The Guardians possessed two people, creating the perfect scene for me to prove myself in a way that would only lead to death, just to prove myself as a potential guardian. I must've passed.

But there you go. There's chivalry for you.

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I stood on the corner of Main, watching cars pass. Across the street from me was Brisbane's Books- a place I'd memorized when I'd worked there. It had gone downhill, from the looks of it. The yellowish lights were on inside and I could see Mrs. Brisbane's short figure moving slowly across the shop. While most of the other stores around were full in the October rush of the small town, hers was nearly empty. I wanted to go inside and talk to her, but she wouldn't hear anything. She wouldn't see me. She'd just get cold and turn up the heater.

I moved to the middle of the street, walking down the yellow lines that separated the cars. The people around me were so alive. So full of warmth. I didn't want to get too close: I didn't want to disturb that.

I watched them- desperately wanting to go back. There was nothing I'd ever wanted more than to have them see me- to be a part of them.

That would never happen. I'd lost my chance.

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"I'm in charge of the weather," Tura explained. Tura, being Natura, or Mother Nature. She was a woman in her thirties with long black hair, dark skin, and darker eyes. She wore a pair of jeans, boots, and a green sweater, making her look exactly nothing like what I'd pictured her to be. "You're in charge of excessive frosting."

"That's it?"

She nodded. "That's it."

So in a sense… I did nothing for anyone, except cause problems.

"Your job is vital, though," She continued, seeing I wasn't exactly happy. "You find ponds and lakes that aren't all the way frozen through and correct it. You even out crops. You- well, there's lots more. You can stay wherever unless someone calls you- be it one of us, or your ice men."

I squinted my eyes. "Ice men?"

"You're in charge of the ice men too. They have another name, but it's too long for me. I never bothered to learn it… Anyway, they're everywhere. You might see them, but Jacks usually don't. They tend to stay in the background."

Well. That was interesting. I turned back around.

"There's millions of them. They live off the land and communicate by thought," She was saying, trying to impress me. "The other Frost's usually send them out every morning to check lakes and to crack the ice off of roads when it gets back. Here, Jack, call one now."

"Call one?"

"With your mind."

I looked at Tura plainly. Her eyes were full of something; a little bit of crazy, and a little bit of hope. But mostly just curiosity. She watched me like the people back in Aperio watched me when I'd gotten back from LA. It drove me crazy.

I shook my head and left the Dome.

"I'm not Jack."

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There was a shack fifteen miles into the woods. I guessed it was an abandoned hunting shack or a weird man cave from the 80s, with the vintage wallpaper and leftover CD's to give me evidence.

Inside of the shack, there was a cot. I slept on it every night, looking up at a crack in the ceiling and staring at the star that was positioned above me until it moved and I couldn't see it.

Those were the only times I'd ever prayed. I prayed for a second chance. I prayed that it was all a dream. I prayed that Riley had forgiven me. I prayed I'd be able to see her again.

It was a few months after I'd… Woken up, when I shot up in bed and thought, _"Why haven't I?"_

I went the next day.

**A/N**

**Hey guys (: Hope your holidays are going good! It's 11 days till Christmas! I'm so excited! **

**So listen, I don't usually talk about myself at all, but I was just wondering if you guys would take a minute to send some positive energy, or prayers (or whatever you believe) my way. I'm having a really tough time with some stuff now, and I really need some people to back me up (: **

**But you know what else would help? Reviews! Please? For me? Love you! (: (:**

**Yours truly,**

**-Icy**


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Luke

**_Trouble- Coldplay_**

Time went by. It was October, then it was November, and when December came, I wasn't prepared.

I went to her house every day, looking for a sign of her. Her car was never there. Her blinds were always down, and her lights off. She was gone. But our families were there. I saw them getting in and out of cars, or inside through the windows. They looked… Normal. My mom had gotten her hair all chopped off. My dad and Riley's dad were both grey. Jules had wrinkles. And Jess's hair had grown past his eyebrows, making him do the Bieber flip. It made me wonder how she looked.

I'd go and sit up in her old tree house for hours, wondering if she'd grown out her hair like she'd said she'd wanted to, or cut it short. If she had lost those 5 pounds she was always worried about, and I thought were cute. If the scar from a skating accident when we were ten had faded. I wondered if she was with someone else now.

Probably.

It took a while to push that thought to the back of my mind.

But mostly, I wondered if she'd ended up going to Chicago. I wished she had. She _deserved _it.

In the rest of the world, I was fitting in. Some instinct had taken over, and I was good at doing nothing. There were abilities I was finding out about myself that I hadn't found before- like creating frost. I'd mastered that.

There was controlling winds- so basically, I could fly. That, for a guy who had always been afraid of heights, was equally horrifying and freaking awesome.

And then there was the senses. I could sense everything a hundred times better. My sight was a hundred times sharper, smell was stronger, hearing was clearer, and everything I could touch I was sensitive too. I didn't eat anymore, though. There wasn't a need to, and I honestly didn't think I could if I tried. Why would a dead guy want a sub, anyway?

Anyway. Back to Riley.

It was mid December, and the holiday decorations and mood was in full swing around the town. I'd been visiting Riley's balcony two or three times a day, waiting for her to show up for Christmas break. There was nothing for me to do apart from that. Tura was in charge of the weather. I was in charge of frosting things, making ice storms, and freezing ponds. I felt useless.

More useless than when I was alive.

More useless than when I was human.

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"You should leave Aperio."

I looked up from the street corner, where I'd been standing.

"What?"

Jace gave me a shrug and stood next to me, watching cars go by. "This isn't healthy." He stated simply. "You're focusing too much on what you lost, not what you gained."

I couldn't help but laugh. "_Gained?_"

He nodded. "You'd see it if you got some perspective."

"I can't leave."

"You can."

"No, I really can't."

"Luke, you _can." _He moved in front of me, forcing me to look to the side.

"I've seen so many guys come into these shoes. Half of them haven't made it as far as you have. You've got determination. What for?"

I shrugged.

"You know I can read minds, right? I already know."

With a groan, I said, "I just need to see her before I go anywhere, okay?"

Jace smirked. "So it's a girl?"

"I thought you could-"

"It's the oldest trick in the book, man." He said, laughing. "So who's this girl?"

"No one."

I started off down the street, but he followed keeping pace.

"Let me tell you a story," He began. "I was born in 1832, and grew up in London. I went to school in the largest institute in the country at the time, and I had a little girl in my class. Her name was Jane Arnolds. I always knew it was going to be her, and she did too, so we were married as soon as I was out of school. She became a teacher, and I a construction worker. I died the year she was pregnant with our first child."

I stopped at the edge of town, looking out at the snowy woods. Tura had been busy. A fresh sheet of snow had fallen the night before, and another was coming.

"I was chosen thirty years after my death, and never left London. I'd gone looking for her in all of my spare time. I was convinced it was the best thing to do. You see, I had this idea in my head that I'd find a way to make us work. That, even though I was time keeper, she could still be my wife."

There had to be an happy ending.

"You can imagine my surprise when I found her- married to my brother. Six children, and the one child I'd brought into the world had died."

I turned to face him. His eyes were red as he looked at the snow in the sky.

"She died in the insane asylum, after telling too many people she'd seen me again. I left London, and I haven't been back."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"No." He said sharply. "It's supposed to make you think."

There was a long while where it was just us, watching the snow. I frosted the sidewalk beneath us, making it slippery and cold, and created a tiny wind trail with my finger.

"My point is this." He continued quietly. "These people don't know what's around them. To them, you're just a nice guy who lived and died too young. They're going to move on with their lives."

He walked away, calling out the last words before disappearing entirely.

"Don't ruin their lives just because you can't have yours."

**A/N**

**So I've decided once I'm done with this story, I'm just gonna pick up my things and leave. I think I'll move to Africa. Maybe Hawaii. **

**It's been another weird day. Anybody have a funny story they wanna tell me? I really want to hear!**

**-Icy**


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Luke

**_Coriolis- Penguin Cafe_**

I sat on the balcony, looking in at her.

This was the first day she'd been back. I'd been in Alaska for a few hours, only to come back and find her home. I hadn't left the balcony since.

She had grown up. Everything about her that had said, "Child," was gone. She was almost a new person.

While I watched her, I felt myself getting angry. My fingers were tight in two fists. My back was stiff. My temple throbbed. It wasn't fair.

Because everyone always told you, you'll get a second chance. So why didn't I get mine? Why, after everything that happened, was it _me _that died. _Why _was it after a fight? Why didn't I get to resolve _anything?_

What hurt the most was to watch someone who'd already moved on.

She was laying on her bed, writing on her laptop. Textbooks were laid around, casually tossed aside. Her glasses had fallen down onto the tip of her nose. She looked gorgeous.

For the first time in months, I felt warm. I felt uncomfortably hot. I was nervous, because I felt like I was missing something.

But there was nothing to miss, was there? There was me, and there was her. There wasn't anything more. There couldn't be.

I'd spend the rest of my time, thinking about those two words.

What.

If.

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"Eighteen days left. You're cutting it close."

I looked down from my spot in the tree. The guardians were meeting, this time in Los Angeles. The change in heat made me uncomfortable and angry.

"I'm taking as much time in Aperio as I can." I grumbled. "You said I had until the first."

"You do."

"So what's your point?"

Jace shrugged, stretching out on the metal bench he was sitting on. "No reason."

I rolled my eyes.

"Jack, we're just trying to make this easier for you." Tura said, absentmindedly growing a flower on the ground.

"Easy?" I scoffed.

"Easier." Jace corrected. "This isn't an easy job. It's not an easy way of life."

"This isn't life. This isn't anything like life." I shot out sharply, wanting to leave right then. "This is watching people and wanting them to notice you. This is your own personal hell on earth."

They were quiet for a few seconds before Matt, the Sandman, spoke up.

"I had three kids and a wife."

I focused on him. He had dark blonde hair that looked like it was almost going to grey, but was never quite there. His forehead was wrinkled, and his eyes always looked sad. I'd wondered what this guy's background was, but he was so quiet. I'd never heard him speak, but after saying that I noticed that he had a soft country accent to him.

"I was a professor." He continued. "Got the chance to go on an archaeological expedition in Egypt in the 30s, but the plane crashed. The pilots died. Only me and four other men survived it, but I died a week later after running out of water."

I met his eyes and didn't break the contact. I'd never seen a guardian look so human.

"It was twenty somethin' years later that I became the Sandman. I looked up those men. Only one had made it to safety, and I found out he'd died in a car accident five years after the plane crash. He'd written a book, and I took it and have it in my cave. The memoirs of Harrison Porter."

He paused, looking at the ground. "He said he was guilty for doin' it. I don't believe it. You can't take the water supply for yourself and live to tell about it in cold blood; it's just not human."

Looking back up he finished with, "I found a way. You'll find yours."

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I'd moved inside of the house, and leaned against the wall by her dresser. She was working at her desk, writing in a notebook. Every few minutes, her phone would buzz and she'd stop what she was doing to reply to whoever was texting her. I was jealous. I wanted it to be me.

Coming out of a radio was a song. It was familiar, but I couldn't place it. So I sat and listened to it play until the end, when the DJ came back on and said the name- Fluorescent Adolescence, by the Arctic Monkeys. I finally placed it. It was the song playing in the car when I'd first seen her that summer, when I'd hit her car.

Memories rushed back to me. My head started to pound. Warmth started to pulse through me, and I started to sweat- which was something I hadn't done since I'd been Jack. I grabbed onto the top of the dresser, feeling like I was going to pass out. All I could think was, "What if I'm being replaced? What if this is it?"

There was a horrible minute when my breathing was shallow, my vision was black, and my head was pounding. The heat was overbearing- I almost couldn't take it. I stumbled towards the balcony door and tried to walk through, which was the way I'd gotten in. The door was solid; I couldn't go through.

I had only turned the handle when there was a scream behind me.

"Who are you?!"

For a few seconds, I stood in front of the closed door, wondering if this was real. Wondering if I hadn't passed out in the corner of the room, and this was another bad thing about being Jack- vivid dreams. But when I turned around and my eyes were met with Riley's, I knew that this was real. There was no way it wasn't.

"Oh my god. Oh my god, _Luke?"_

I didn't know what to say. My jaw dropped and I tried to come up with words.

"This- I just, this can't be- I mean-"

"Riley." I finally said. That was all I could say. I had no explanation, no words. Nothing.

"You're dead." She stuttered out.

"I know."

"H-how-"

"Long story."

She stood and backed up to her bed. "A-are you, um, real?"

Was I _real? _Huh. Hadn't thought of that one before.

"I think so."

"Like a ghost?"

I shook my head, almost at a loss for words. "No.. Not really."

I was probably more terrified than her.

Because there I was, standing in front of her and she could see me. She didn't want to touch me. She didn't want to look at me. And I didn't know how she could see me.

"Where did you come from?" She finally asked, after a silence that was too long. Her voice cracked, and even I (who was always bad at reading people) knew how much pain she was in. This was too much for her.

"I was just- I mean, after the, um…" The heat pressed in on me again. "Can we step outside?"

She shook her head. "After the what?"

I nodded and blinked a few times, trying to get rid of the black dots that kept sparking across my line of vision. "After the lake I just stayed here, and it's hard to explain, so could we step outside?"

"Why?"

"It's too hot in here."

She gave me a look. I couldn't tell if it was scared or confused. "It's only 65."

"It's hot to me."

"Luke, I just-"

"Riley, please."

I thought of how stupid this all was. In the first few minutes of talking to Riley after two years, we'd gotten nothing done. She was thinking that she was hallucinating, and I was overheated and confused.

"So what's going on? Where did you go?" She asked, her voice breaking again.

I looked at her, her eyes piercing into me. "It's a long story."

"I've got time."

She'd never been more perfect to me.

**A/N**

**YAY! Love you! It happened! (: (: (: So I have a couple little announcements(: First of all…**

**OMG, OMG. THEY'RE BACK TOGETHER AND YOU KNOW IT AND THIS MAKES ME A HAPPY AUTHOR AND YAY, YAY, OMG I'M DYING**

**2) I've been having seriously weird dreams. One last night involved oversized caterpillars that fell on me and stuck to me like leeches. I woke up with itchy skin. Anybody know if that means I'm going crazy?**

**3) OMG THEY'RE TOGETHER AND I'M JUST LIKE**

**4) There will NOT be a sequel): Sorry babes, I just don't have any ideas):**

**Review babes! You're amazing, I love hearing from you! Love you!(:**

**-Icy**


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Riley

**_Plastic House- Cajsa Siik_**

He told me, and I didn't believe him.

I'd had signs of a cold for days- a sore throat, and the beginnings of a stuffed up nose- so I'd taken medicine for it. I assumed I was just hallucinating, which was something common. When I was a kid I'd hallucinated every time I'd taken aspirin. Was there aspirin in cough syrup?

We'd sat on the balcony for a long time- long enough for my cold to get worse and me to get unbearably cold. He'd told me everything from the lake to that night. How he'd woken up as Jack Frost was obviously the strangest to me. I'd have been able to believe it more if he'd come to as a ghost, because I had religion and couldn't help but think there were spirits. But an immortal man who controlled ice? Not exactly something I'd expected.

But there he was, sitting in front of me. I could touch him if I wanted to, but I didn't. Something had stopped me.

We'd gone back into my room. I'd closed both doors and locked them, covering the balcony windows with the curtain. Two fans were turned on and pointed towards him sitting at the edge of the bed, while I curled up under my blanket.

I told him about college in Chicago. How I was studying architecture there, and what my roommate was like. I told him about the time I'd gotten locked out of my dorm and had to sleep in my car. About the time I walked in to a class late- only to find out that it was the wrong day, and I'd walked into an intro to sociology class. I told him about my boyfriend.

He'd gotten really quiet when I explained that part of me. I tried to make it sound better. That we had only been together for a few months, and that we'd been fighting for the past few days. He'd just looked around and nodded. I noticed that he was more quiet.

There used to never be a quiet moment with him, but our conversations had turned into them. I got the feeling that he was deep in thought, his mind somewhere else. He had to be focusing on all the little things. I wondered if he thought about the night he'd died, when I'd been so horrible. I'd never forgiven myself. I wanted to explain what had happened, but every time I'd started to explain I couldn't form the words. I stayed quiet.

"How are my parents?" He said after a while. It was easy to tell that even bringing them up was hard for him.

"They're really good." I promised, smiling. "Your dad's retiring this year, and your mom won't. She says that life's too dull without work."

"Did they ever work out the lawsuit?"

I remembered that before he'd died, his family had sued a cruise line for food poisoning. I'd totally forgotten about it, it had been so long.

"They won." I said. He smiled.

"How's Jess?"

"He's, um, he's good."

Luke looked at me, seeing right through the mask. God, he was good at that.

"What's wrong?"

I looked at my hands, playing idly with my fingers.

"Well, when you died, he just, he got depressed. He just, he started messing around with stuff."

"Stuff?" He moved up next to me, cross legged. One hand wrapped around mine, and the other propped himself up on the other side of my legs. Things went through my head, making me stutter. His hand was solid and cold. He was less than a foot away from my face- I could feel his breath. It was so real, I didn't think it could be a hallucination.

"Substance, stuff."

Luke bit his lip and looked down. "It's my fault."

"No, Luke."

"It is."

"You died." I said firmly, squeezing his hand softly. "You couldn't have done anything."

"I could've-"

"It wasn't your fault."

He met my eyes. There was a minute where it was nothing but perfectly unspoken words, our minds trying to form the right ones to say.

"I wish-" He paused. "I wish I could've had one more day."

I pressed my hand against his cheek and said no.

"You're here. You have these days."

He kissed me.

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"Riley? Honey, you need to wake up."

I shot up in bed. My room was dark and cold enough to know that Luke was still somewhere near- or if he was gone, he hadn't been for long.

"Yeah, I'm awake." I said sleepily, making my way towards the locked door.

"I heard you in the kitchen last night." She said, crossing her arms. "It must've been three in the morning. Why were you up so late?"

She wasn't angry, only concerned.

"I was talking to some old friends." I said, only halfway lying. She smiled.

"Really? Who?"

"Um, Isabelle." Another lie.

"Are you going to see her today?"

"Probably."

It was another five minutes of questions as I walked in and out of the kitchen, going back to my room with breakfast. Seconds after closing my door, Luke popped up from the side of my bed, having been hidden by the frame.

"I thought you left." I said, sitting down next to him. He gave me a big smile and wrapped an arm around my waist, kissing me. God, it was so good to have him again.

"I'm not going anywhere." He said after a minute.

With a small smile, I got up and walked over to my closet. "We should do something." I said.

He frowned. "Like what?"

"We could drive to Portersville."

We hadn't been up there in ages. The last time our families had gone, I'd been twelve and Luke had been fifteen. Our parents had told us to go off and find some place to eat, and we'd spent our entire afternoon in a café in the center of town, reading and talking. It'd been one of those few times we'd gotten along.

"I'm gonna need clothes." He said, looking consciously at himself in the mirror. I stood next to him. He had on a pair of dark, ripped jeans, and a long sleeved grey shirt with a tan carhart. His boots were heavy, sturdy things that laced up and were home to his tucked in jeans. He would've looked like a lumberjack if it weren't for the white-ish blonde hair, and electric blue eyes.

"We'll go to your house before we leave." I promised.

I changed clothes into a pair of jeans, Uggs, a sweater, and my black coat.

"Go out through the balcony, and meet me by your back door in a couple of minutes, okay?"

He nodded and slipped out of the door. I took a moment and closed my eyes, praying that this was real.

I just wanted to see him again.

**A/N **

**OMG one week until Chrismas! I'm celebrating it by watching Adventure Time(: **

**Now see that little button down there? See it? It says REVIEW on it in big letters(: You should tickle that button, make it happy!**

**-Icy**


	18. Chapter Seventeen

I was laying in the snow, looking up.

The sky was dark, with a street light illuminating the shapes of the snowflakes as they fell. Everything was almost too cold. Almost. I stayed.

Luke stood a few feet in front of me, his arms crossed and his stance tense. He was focused on the woods. It was silent. It was peace.

My thoughts ran back to a night only a few weeks earlier. Isabel had called me in tears, telling me about Roy. What he'd done to Sadie.

I told myself to stop.

"It's so quiet." I said after a long silence. The only sound in the woods were birds calling to each other, and my voice. Luke nodded. I watched him walk forward towards the edge of the woods and lean against a tree. His movements were so.. I don't know. Focused? Planned? Exact.

"The trees look like the ones we made in fifth grade for our play. Remember? I think it was Hansel and Gretel. You were Hansel."

He turned around and gave me a small smile. "And you were jealous."

I let out a short laugh, remembering Luke like he used to be. He had a bad haircut and wore camo pants every day for a year, even though we lived in the city.

Standing, the coldness got even more cold. Everything brightened a little. Luke took my hand and kissed it.

"What are we going to do?" I asked quietly. He looked at me, like he could see right through me.

"I'm leaving In two weeks to go back to Chicago, and we can't keep hiding until then."

"They can't know." He said firmly. I shook my head slowly.

"Why?"

"They've already been through enough."

"But having you back- wouldn't it be better? They could stop grieving. They could have you back. And Jess _needs_ you Luke."

He ran his fingers through his hair and clenched his jaw.

"Luke, if something was wrong, you would tell me, right?" He nodded.

"It's just- I don't have a lot of time." He said. "After New Years, I have to be gone. I can't talk to you anymore. The council's saying it's too dangerous."

My head spun with questions. Dangerous? How was that dangerous? I had him back, and I was just going to lose him again?

"So why…?"

"I had to talk to you." He said, moving up against me. He ran his hands from my shoulders to my wrists, kissing my forehead once. "Even if it was just one last time."

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***Song Change* ****_Gold Rush- Ed Sheeran_**

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"I've been thinking." I said, closing my door. "What if we could make you Luke again?"

He was standing by the cracked balcony door, wearing just a towel. His hair was wet and his mouth was home to a smirk.

"What- you don't like albinism?"

He motioned to his chest, which wale pale. Really, really pale. Not gross, just… Yeah. Pale.

"I didn't say that…"

"You liked it when I was sexy and tan. I get it."

He smirked and turned around to face the open air. My cheeks were hot and I was holding back a laugh as I said, "Oh yeah. So much."

I set down my plate of food and sat on my desk chair.

"I just have been going over that phrase in my head, "Undo what has been done." It could work, right? I mean, there are a bunch of people waiting to be Jack so it wouldn't be a problem with replacement. You're still technically alive, because you have a heartbeat. So what's making you Jack? What happened when you died?"

He shrugged and turned back around to face me again. "It's something to do with my brain."

I bit my lip. "Well maybe-"

"You're not doing brain surgery on me, Riley."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms, smiling. "I'm serious, Luke. I want to fix this."

He walked into my closet and closed the door. "Babe, there's nothing you can fix. I'm going to talk to Jace and convince him to give me some more time, but it's really not something we can-"

"Oh my god. I just- _oh my god. _Luke, I've got it."

"What?"

"It's a long shot, but I think I know how to fix you."

He came out of the closet wearing a pair of blue jeans, sneakers, and a hoodie.

"And how's that?"

"Well… You became available by dying, right? Your brain shut off, except for the part controlling your Jack-ness, or whatever. I'm guessing it's kind of a trigger, right? It's turns on when you die."

"… Yeah?"

"So what happened if you died again? What if it turned off?"

He gave me a look. "That could work… If you look past the whole 'me-dying' part."

"It could be our only shot."

He leaned forward and kissed me, making me pray to anyone or anything that would listen. I had to figure out a solution. I couldn't lose him again.

"I'm going to talk to Jace." He said, assuring me. "I'll be back before it gets too dark."

I nodded and watched him leave. It took a while, but I knew what to do. He'd be mad, but it was our only shot. I walked in to the hall.

"Jess?"

**A/N**

**Hey! I wrote this chapter in a squished car on the way to a NBA game, so if it sucks just tell me, but I personally like it(:**

**-Icy**


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Luke

**_Hero- Family Of The Year_**

" Just give me a few more months."

"I can't. It's not healthy, man."

"Please, I swear-"

"_No."_

I rubbed my neck and tried to come back with something to change his mind. Nothing came to me.

"You're not Luke anymore."

I stared at a tree past his head.

"You have to move on. You can't go back. You have to make a new life for yourself."

"My life was fine."

"So was mine. But this happened," He motioned to himself. "You can't go back to the way it was, and trying to reconstruct your old life is only going to drive you crazy. I'm not being mean, I'm trying to help, Jack."

Jack. I hated the name. I hated the person. I was falling into the mind of 18 year old me, who was a coward. He was mad and angry at himself. He was broken. He was ready to die.

I left.

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Before I went to the house, I went to Lake Ogle. It'd been the first time since the accident, and everything rushed back. I stood in the sand, watching the water. It was frozen over and still, just like it had been that night.

It took a while of quiet, and a lot of thinking. There weren't any options for me, I thought. I was going to be leaving in less than two weeks, and I wasn't coming back. I thought it was going to be my last time ever going there.

Well. I was half right.

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The second I got back to the house, everything was wrong. I'd jumped onto the balcony and thrown myself to the side when I saw Jess sitting on Riley's bed. She was talking, and her back was to me. I tried to listen, but I couldn't hear a word. I cursed and knew that she was telling him. His face was red, and his hands were shaking. His body language was screaming, "scared." I felt awful.

Eventually, I knew I was going to have to make a choice. Go inside and risk the small chance that Riley hadn't told him, or leave and miss the chance to talk to Jess. I wanted to talk to him. I needed-

_"__Shit._"

"Jess."

I looked to my left and saw two things. Jess was standing a few feet away, his face as white as fresh paint. And then, a few feet behind him was the big sister version of Riley, scolding him for his language.

"Luke- I didn't, I mean… What the..? I thought- no, _we_ thought-"

"I'm sorry." I said, hugging him. He was like a little kid for a few minutes, just hugging me and trying to mumble out whole sentences. I just said, "I know. I'm sorry." Even thought I wasn't 100% sure what I was sorry for. It wasn't exactly my fault that I died, but it definitely wasn't his. I wondered if he knew that.

I gave Riley a frustrated look before Jess took a step back and rubbed his head.

"This isn't even real." He said quietly. "This can't be real."

"I'd pinch you, but I don't want to." I said, smiling a little bit. He shook his head, obviously not in the mood to joke.

"Jess, you can't tell anyone." Riley said, touching his shoulder. He was taller than her now. He had a few hairs on his chin, like some kind of sad soul patch thing. He was wearing dark clothes, and his hair was too long. He looked like the kind of guy I'd used to be. It scared me. I could tell it scared Riley too.

"I won't." He said quietly. "But I mean, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Riley stumbled for words, but for once I knew exactly what to say.

"I didn't want to."

Jess looked like he'd just been punched. "Why?"

"I knew it'd do this to you."

He shook his head. "I just- I don't know how to…"

"Riley, can I talk to you for a minute?" I said shortly. Jess looked offended as he walked into her bedroom. Riley reminded him to stay there and not tell anyone. I closed the balcony door slowly, my eyes closed while I tried to cool off. I was mad. No, I was more than just mad. I'd gone and found out there was no way to convince Jace to change his mind, and not only was it going to affect Riley but now Jess too?

"I explained most of it to him." Riley started. "He took it really well, once we got past-"

"Why would you do that?" I asked, not really wanting an answer. There was none.

"You're making this harder." I said, lowering my voice. "There is no way I could make this work, Riley."

"Then let Jess make it work." She insisted.

"He's a kid."

"He's a genius."

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, leaning against the rail.

"Don't you want your life back?" She asked. "Don't you want to go back to the way it was? Your parents need you, Luke. We could say that it was a mistake, and you left after we had a fight. That you didn't really die. Luke, we could do this."

There was a part of me screaming no, but as I was standing there, looking at her, and looking at Jess, I did. I wanted more than I ever had, and I would've done anything to make it happen.

"Okay." I said. "Tell me what your plan is."

**A/N**

**Okay so now I'm scared. We're two days away from the chapter I haven't even started writing in yet… Honestly, I'm not even 100% sure how this stories going to end. Only 5 more to go and then the epilogue): *starts crying.***

**I read The Fault in Our Stars today (Yes, in a day.) And it literally blew me away. I've never read a book that empowering. That fulfilling. That promising. **

**Well, except the bible. **

**Review!(;**

**-Icy**


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Riley

**_Girls Love Beyonce- Drake_**

Jess was sitting on my bed, scribbling words that meant nothing to me on a piece of notebook paper. Luke was having a silent panic attack. I was dying inside.

We'd been in my room for three hours. The heat was up, and Luke was sweating. He had on a pair of basketball shorts, a tank top, and that was it, so that Jess could test his compatibility with environment, or something. He was standing next to the balcony door, pressing his forehead and hands against it. I was a few feet away at my desk, and would glance back every few minutes, but he stayed still there. After three and a half hours, I heard him moan. This was practically killing him.

"Jess, let him out for a few minutes." I asked, hating to watch him like that. He was so miserable, it hurt to watch.

"I'm fine." He mumbled, backing up and looking at me. I shook my head.

"Luke-"

"I'm _fine." _He said again, more firmly. I nodded and watched him go back to leaning against the cold glass.

"I'll get you some water." Jess spoke up. "Want anything to eat?" After getting no response, he sucked in his lips, gave me a look, and snuck out of the room, locking it behind him.

"Luke, you're doing really well." I tried to be encouraging. He gave me a look, making me smile. His face was red and his skin looked hot. I mean, temperature wise.

"Distract me." Was all he said.

I nodded and turned around, pulling up the power point I'd been working on.

"Remember Sadie?" I asked, not getting a verbal response. I knew he did, though. "I made this for her service. Her mom asked me to make it yesterday. She thought we were still friends… I didn't want to tell her we weren't, so I've been working on it. What'd you think?"

I felt him touch the back of my chair, because the balance changed. His presence hung over me as he read the first slide.

_Sadie Miller, 1993-2013. Gone too soon._

****"How'd she die?"

I bit my lip. "She and Roy were going to the same college. They were together, I guess, because she got pregnant with his baby. And I don't know, something went wrong… She died from the pregnancy."

"He didn't…?"

"I don't know. There's a court session in a month."

Some days it was hard to believe Sadie was really gone. I hadn't seen her in so long, that I wondered if she was even really gone. We weren't friends, but we had been. That was the girl I'd painted my toenails with for graduation. She's helped me pick out my dress for prom. And she was gone?

"When was the last time you talked to her?" Luke asked quietly, moving my hair off of the back of my neck and over my shoulder.

"Your funeral, actually." I chuckled. "God, your funeral. So many people came, you wouldn't believe it."

He knelt on the ground and was eye level to me. "This probably won't work."

I bit my lip.

"There are a lot of things that could go wrong."

I nodded.

"And if I get caught, they're going to kill me. For real, this time."

He touched my arm, and looked at me. Something about his eyes were different. Not just the color, though. Something about the way he looked at me. It was… Deeper. More understanding.

"I love you." He said, lifting his hand up to my neck. "And I just want you to know that in case something happens."

He leaned in and kissed me, erasing any doubts I had about what was going on between us. I knew, deep down that what we were going to attempt probably wasn't going to work. We were most likely witnessing the last few days of Luke's existence. I didn't want to admit it, but it was the truth.

I kissed him back, clutching the front of his shirt. He picked me up with one swift move and reversed our positions, but this time, I was on his lap. He moved one arm around my waist. I touched his hips and-

Knocking. I jumped off of him and had a heart attack pretty fast. Luke moved behind my bed, hiding, while I walked to the door as calmly as I could. My hands were shaking and I was sure my face was red. God, was it red? I took a peek in my mirror. Not too bad, just a little pink.

"Who is it?" I asked, making my voice sound muffled. "I'm changing clothes."

"It's me." My mom's voice came through the door. "I need to talk to you."

My throat dropped into my stomach. I ushered Luke into the closet and tried to ignore the fact that he looked like he was going to die as it was, not to mention the effects of a stuffy closet.

"Just a second." I said, moving back over to the door. She was standing in the hall, arms crossed and a frown etched onto her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, watching her walk into my room. She sat on my bed and glanced at Jess's open notebook, getting ready to pick it up and read it.

"Oh, that's for a college class." I said, picking it up and setting it on my desk. She gave me a small smile.

"What class?"

"Um, physics. What's wrong?" I repeated, sitting next to her. She tilted her head.

"I just wanted to see how you were holding up." She began. "I mean, with the anniversary being in a few weeks."

Oh my god. Luke's death day- I'd totally forgotten. It was in fifteen days.

"I'm okay." I said, smiling. "It's been easier for me this year."

Obvious answer. God, I wanted to tell her. She was hurting, I could tell.

She smiled and nodded. "I'm always here if you want to talk, alright? I know we don't see each other much anymore, but we can still talk about it. I know it's hard."

"I really am fine."

She nodded and stood up, looking around. My room really was a mess. I had plates of the remnants of foods, and empty cups scattered around. Paper was everywhere. Books on neurosurgery, hypothermia, and the human body were everywhere. It was a pit of a regular college kid, but I wasn't a regular college kid. I think if it had been any other time of year, and not Luke's death week, she would've accused me of something, but she left it be. She left. I sighed and opened the closet.

Luke was passed out inside.

**_A/N_**

******I finished this story tonight. It's all written out, epilogue and everything. Honestly, this is the first story I've ever finished, and even thought I'll regret it someday… I kind of love it right now. I'll edit it in a month or so, but for now, I'm happy with it. I'm proud of this story, and I'm proud to say that I have 40 reviews. I love you! Thank you so much for your support, you all are truly wonderful!**

**-Icy**


	21. Chapter Twenty

Riley

**_Young and Beautiful- Lana Del Ray_**

"You planned that, didn't you." I said, walking back into my room, a cold towel in hand. Jess turned around, giving me a look.

"What are you-"

"You didn't want to tell Luke that you were moving so fast in getting him sick."

Jess stared at me. It was hard to read him anymore, but his look was similar to the guys in the criminal TV shows when they get caught.

"Why didn't you just tell us that was what you were trying to do?"

"I didn't think it'd happen so fast." He admitted. "I was just trying to get him to pass out. I didn't think he'd get a fever so high."

I tried to calm down, but everything sunk on me so fast it was hard to handle.

For one, I was letting my sixteen year old brother be in charge of my boyfriends life.

Two, my boyfriend was dying.

Three, Jess was the only one taking care of my dying boyfriend.

Yeah. Hard to handle.

But the thing was, Jess wasn't acting like a kid. He looked strong and in control. I was the one freaking out, not him. He knew what he was doing.

"What are you going to do now?" I asked as calmly and nicely as I could. He glanced at his notebook.

"Well the idea is, I'm trying to heat him up. Trying to melt him out of his abilities, you could say."

"That sounds insane."

"I know, but trust me. I know this will work. I _know _it will."

There it was. There was the crack of vulnerability I'd been waiting for.

"What can I do?"

Jess looked at the clock, which read 11:47 PM. "It's going to happen tomorrow." He said. "I really need to be awake for that. I'm going to go sleep for a while. You stay in here and check his temperature every ten minutes or so, okay? Wake me up if you get tired, but you need to keep his temperature around 102 until 4 or 5 in the morning. That's when I'll definitely be in here and we can work it up to 106.

I felt sick. I nodded.

"He might puke, so here's a bowl." He said casually. "And don't cool him off, Riley. I'm serious. It's gotten to a certain point… I think this is his only chance."

I nodded again, and watched Jess grab his stuff and leave. Luke was laying on my bed, under my covers. He was sweating and his face was red. Every once in a while, he would move, making me think that he'd wake up, but he never did. I eventually realized he wouldn't.

Through the night, I thought a lot about my life. I wondered what it would be like to lose him again, and I wondered what it would be like to have him back. There was a greater chance that I'd lose him than I wanted to admit, but it hurt too badly to think about it. I had to keep hoping.

I laid next to him, watching him. He grew less and less restless as the night moved on. His chest moved up and down, but his breathing grew raspy. As the clock ticked forward, I grew increasingly aware that we were losing him. I knew it was the goal, but it felt so wrong. By the time four o'clock came around, I was practically dying too. I thought I'd cried as much as I could, but when Jess came in with another heater at four fifteen, I started to cry again.

"It's not going to work." I said, touching his arm. "Jess, we're going to lose him."

Jess's face remained stoic as he worked on bringing his temperature up.

"This isn't going to work." I whispered over and over. "We're losing him. Jess, we're losing him."

It was 6:37 on December 17th , when for the second time in his life, Luke Moreau's heart stopped beating.

I'd lost him, twice. And this time I was responsible.

I'd killed him. I'd killed Luke.

I'd killed Jack.

**_A/N_**

******_I'm sorry ):_**

******-Icy**


	22. Chapter Twenty One

Luke

**_12/22_**

**_Back To Black- Beyonce ft. Andre 3000_**

My existence was a fluid concept.

I'd lived. Then I'd died. I'd lived again. Then, I was dying again.

It was confusing, to say the least.

The thing was, I was never aware of when I was dying. I remember passing out, and I remember waking up, but there was nothing in between. No separation between being sick and waking up.

It took a week of hiding in Riley's bedroom to get strong enough to leave. Even then, I was still sick. There was always a pressing on my chest, like someone was squeezing my lungs. I was always too hot, and spent most of my time up until the hour I left in nothing but a pair of shorts. I slept way too much, and Riley only left it there was a family issue.

It was December 27th, the day before my death day.

I'd left when Riley was at my house, visiting with my family. They'd planned a service the day of, to remember me, or something. She was going to tell them. We'd talked about it for hours. Every night, she'd just lay in bed and cry, and I would feel guilty enough to do anything. I didn't know what to say to them, otherwise they would've found out sooner.

The plan was for me to rest. Riley would go over and explain to them a story that we'd make up. It was a boldfaced lie, and was also the only way they'd ever believe us.

I was supposed to stay in Riley's bedroom, because it was too risky for me to be going through town with all of my family there. But I had to go.

Two hours after Riley left, I was with Jace.

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"How did you do it?"

I crossed my arms. The cold made me comfortable, for the first time in weeks.

"I died."

He leaned against a tree, eyeing me. "And how did you come back?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. It wasn't me who figured it out."

"You talked to someone before it happen?"

I nodded, not sure what to say. I had it all planned in my head on the way over, but it left me. I just needed to tell him that there was a way. The hurt in his eyes made it obvious. He wanted it too.

"We can help you too." I promised, trying to get him to hear what I was saying. He shook his head.

"I just- I can't."

"Jace, I know you don't want to stay like this."

"This _is_ what I want."

He looked scared, and I got frustrated. It was so freaking backwards.

"Jace, this isn't a life. This is a place in between when people are just waiting for you to screw up. You don't want this."

"I- I don't-"

You don't have to decide right now. I'll be at my house for a while. Just, think about it?"

He looked to the left, his face void of emotion.

"Who took my place?"

"A kid from New York. He's in Colorado for a while, still trying to figure out how the hell this happened to him."

"Is there any way I can-"

"No, Luke. You can't see him."

I nodded, getting ready to leave. There wasn't anything else I could say. Moving towards the clearing, I was thinking that what Jace had said would be the last thing I'd ever hear from him.

"Luke?"

I turned around.

"Stay safe."

He wasn't going to ask for help.

"Yeah." I said back, a little quiet. "You too."

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**Riley's POV**

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"Riley. We need to talk."

My heart stopped as I turned around. I was standing on the porch at the Moreau's, feeling flushed. There was a room of thirty people, and most were above sixty. Luke's grandparents, his five uncles and aunts along with their spouses, and all twenty of their kids. Yes, _twenty. _Half of them were over 10. That alone was enough to make you go crazy. But when you sit down the adults and explain that the guy they were here for, the guy whose death they were remembering and crying about… Well that's when it goes absolutely insane.

And so it really does make sense then why I was standing on a porch outside in the negative degrees of coldness.

"Jace. What are you doing here?"

He moved up next to me, his arm touching mine. I felt uncomfortable, to say the least. The sense of power radiating off this guy was something you couldn't describe. Every time I saw him, I felt as if I was getting older.

"Luke found me today." He said. I felt my heart drop into my stomach.

"He did?"

Jace nodded and turned around, looking into the window. "How'd they take it?"

I shrugged, letting him change the conversation. "How well would _you _take it?"

He laughed, a bellowing laugh, into the night. I smiled.

"You're going to have to be careful." He warned me. "He's going to want to tell people. You can't let that happen."

"I know."

"And he doesn't know about us?"

I shook my head. "He won't find out you helped us."

He paused, like he was about to say something but decided against it.

"And Sadie?" I asked, knowing he really couldn't tell me much.

"She's doing well."

"Where is she now?"

"Somewhere in Europe. She was mad that she couldn't hook up with anyone, but now that the invisibility veil is broken…"

"She causing much trouble?"

He smirked. "She's Vengeance now, Riley. The last woman that was Vengeance caused the American Civil War."

I nodded. "Yeah. Try to make sure that doesn't happen, okay?"

"Sure thing. I'll be back soon to check on you. I mean, to check on Luke, I mean.."

I smiled. "Okay, Jace."

He backed a few feet away.

"And… Jace? Thank you for bringing him back. Thank you for telling me."

The corners of his mouth lifted up before he disappeared, just like that.

**_A/N_**

******_So sorry for not updating yesterday! MAJOR slip up on my part…. I downloaded the 20/20 Experience album at around 8:00, and then my internet crashed until about an hour ago… On the bright side, the 20/20 Experience was brilliant! :D _**

******_So here's two chapters in a day! I can't believe tomorrow's Christmas eve. So I guess it's the eve of Christmas eve? Yay! I love Christmas!_**

******_-xoxo-Icy _**


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

Luke

**_Dirty Paws- Of Monsters and Men_**

I was standing inside of Riley's bedroom, thinking about my life. Everything was about to change again.

The thing about being Jack is, you hate it. You hate being trapped in between, and you hate being invisible from everyone you love. But it becomes a part of you. It starts to define you. It changes you from the inside out.

Riley had spent all morning, excited. Jess had come in with breakfast, and left after he read all the signs we were giving him. We sat and talked for an hour before it reached 11:00 and we had to get ready to leave. Riley cut my hair, making the sides short and leaving the top long, and dressed me, which was more fun than I'll put on. I had switched out of jeans, a flannel shirt, and my boots, and put on some of my old clothes: Khaki skinny jeans, a sweater, and vans. I looked in the mirror, and I looked too much like my old self. I ditched the sweater and put on a long sleeved black shirt.

Riley took a shower and came out looking… Fresh. I don't know. She looked so much more alive than I'd seen her in the past few weeks. She was glowing. She was beautiful. I told her that.

"You're sweet, but you really don't have to." She said, motioning to her tangled wet hair and bathrobe.

"It's true." I said, kissing her nose. She put her arms around my neck and kissed me. We stood there, kissing, for a while. But it was 11:30, and we only had until noon.

"Help me pick out what to wear," She said, pressing her forehead against mine.

He smiled and kissed her nose. "I'm not really good at that."

She convinced me.

We went in her closet, and I tried my best. I picked up a pair of patterned jeans and a multicolored striped shirt that I thought looked okay… But then she tried it on to prove how bad it'd look. And… Yeah. She was right.

I mean, God, my girlfriend was sexy. But that outfit needed to be burned- and that was coming from a guy who wore camo shorts until the 8th grade.

The next one was a dress that was green and white, and I remembered her wearing it on one of our first dates. I asked her not to wear it, because I'd have a hard time from making out with her in it.

She ended up wearing an outfit that made me kiss her. I mean, really, she looked good. I got the full explanation for what it was and where she got it, which I would've hated two years ago, but soaked in every word now.

It was a pair of black tights and black boots. She had on a high waisted red skirt that, if we weren't going to a family thing, I would've asked her not to wear because it made her look too freaking gorgeous. She had a white top that exposed about an inch of skin on her stomach, right around her ribs. Her black sweater was long and made her look warm. I watched her come out of the open closet, hair and makeup still not done, but she still looked amazing. She sat in front of her mirror for twenty minutes to braid her now dry and wavy hair, and to put on makeup I didn't think she needed.

"You're perfect." I said before we left. "I just- I couldn't have done this without you. I love you, Riley."

She smiled and kissed me. "I love you too, Luke."

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It took about four seconds for the entire house to know I'd walked in. I clutched Riley's hand, feeling paranoid and intimidated by my family. God, my _family. _I hadn't been in a room with more than two people in over two years. Thirty people in an 80 degree house with music playing and smells obnoxiously strong… It was too much. It really was. But there was nothing I was going to be able to do about it.

See, my mom had immediately come up and latched onto me, crying. My dad had a strong hand on both my shoulder and my mom's back, and he was crying. Jules and Blake were behind us and were crying. My 15,000 family members were crying. Just, yeah. Everyone was crying.

Maybe I looked like an insensitive jerk by remaining stone faced, but honestly, crying had become a foreign concept to me. It hadn't crossed my mind. I felt like I was crying on the inside, which sounds stupid, but it was true. Nothing showed outwardly.

Riley had explained to my parents that we'd had a fight and I'd gone to Lake Ogle, but gotten hurt when I slid on some ice. Strangers had found me and taken me to a hospital in the town over where no one knew me, and when I woke up with no memory, they had nothing to track. I spent two years with no memory, living in Seattle. But then, I gained my memory, and I came back.

Everyone bought the lie.

"Baby." My mom cried. "My baby."

Choruses of, "We missed you," and, "We prayed for you," rang out. I smiled and nodded, and after a long, long time, my mom released me from the hug. It was so good to be with my parents again. I felt like a little kid coming home from camp.

I was still holding Riley's hand when I was ushered to the table and pushed onto a seat. She stumbled next to me, probably confused as to why I wouldn't let go. When I was pushed onto the seat, she fell over, sitting on my lap for a second before blushing and moving to the chair next to me. I smiled teasingly and squeezed her hand.

For the next few hours, I heard everything. I learned everything my parents had done, were doing, and were going to do. I got _Christmas presents. _Apparently, when everyone heard I was alive there was a midnight run to Wal-Mart. I got clothes, books, movies, and food. So much food. I swear, I was stuffed as full as I possibly could've been.

I stayed there until midnight, when my mom and Jules (the ultimate mom tag team) decided that I was too exhausted and had everyone go back to their hotels until the next day. I started to leave, when they pulled me back and asked where I was going. I snapped back into reality.

"Oh, right, I should stay here."

They smiled and I could see them rest easy.

Riley left at 12:30. I stayed up with my parents for five more minutes before apologizing and going to bed. I found my room exactly like I'd left it, which meant my high school sweatpants were still in my drawer. I took off my clothes, put on the sweatpants, and tried to sleep, but after weeks without a bed of my own, it felt ridiculous.

"Can't sleep?" She said. I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Get over here."

She hung up, and was at my window in five minutes, wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. I unlocked it and helped her crawl in. She crawled under the covers while I locked the door and turned off my light.

"Everyone was so happy to see you today." She said, playing with the seam of the comforter.

"I guess." I said quietly. She turned over to look at me.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Her eyebrows rose. "I've know you for how long..?"

I smiled and moved closer to her, pulling her against me as tightly as I could. Her hand found mine and she held on tightly to it.

"It's just a lot." I said, not meeting her eye. "I mean, a day ago everything was so different. Now everything's changed.

She smiled. "That's what makes this exciting."

I kissed her nose and closed my eyes, thinking for the first time how grateful I was. It was over. I was back.

I had won.

**_A/N_**

******_Yay! Young love (; 3_**

******_-xoxo- Icy_**


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

Luke

**_One Year Later_**

**_Little Wonders- Rob Thomas_**

"Luke, hurry up! We're going to be late!"

I stood in front of the mirror, checking myself. I was wearing a suit. I hadn't worn a suit since my grandfather's funeral a few months after I'd gotten back. I had a reason, and the bottom line was, I was feeling like less of a man because of it.

"Hey stud." A breathy voice came from the doorway behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Riley. She was looking amazing, as always. She had imitated the voice of the girl off of grease, whatever her name was. Norma Jean, or something.

"Hey beautiful. "

She came up and stood next to me, looking at us. She was wearing a red dress that was just tight enough, heels, and a necklace.

"So my parents left an hour ago, and yours left just now. We're supposed to be right behind them. What's the problem?"

I shrugged, trying to hold back a smile. "Nothing."

She wrapped her arms around my neck, like she always did when she was convincing me to do or tell her something.

"We are officially five minutes late to my little brother's high school graduation, and you won't tell me why?"

I bit my lip and closed my eyes for a minute.

"I can't tie my tie."

It took a minute, but she laughed. _Laughed. _

"Do you see that? Next to the shelf?"

Through her total fit of laughter, she covered her mouth and shook her head.

"That's the last, tiny shred of my dignity."

She nodded and closed her eyes, still laughing as she pulled the tie from the sides of my neck and fumbled with it.

"You could've just said something."

"It's kind of an unspoken man rule."

"A man rule?

"Man rule. Yeah."

She laughed again and patted my chest, signaling that she was finished.

"Can we go now?" She asked, smiling wide. I grabbed her hips and pulled her towards me, kissing her.

"Okay." I said a minute later. "Let's go."

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"_I'm out!"_

Jess came up and hugged us, beaming. He looked so healthy. You never would've guessed that he'd ever touched a substance. He hadn't in a year. He hadn't since I'd gotten back.

"I'm proud of you, man."

He gave me a hug and moved onto our parents in the row behind.

"I just realized something." I said, turning to Riley. "I never got to see you graduate."

She nodded. "Yeah. You were a little busy."

There was a light in her eye. An unspoken conversation passed, that Jess caught a hold of and smiled over.

"We could just play dress up tonight." I said, smirking. She rolled her eyes as our moms chimed in, "No you will not."

"Smooth."

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It was guys night. With girlfriends. But mostly guys night.

"When are you heading back?"

I looked at Jess, who was sitting next to me on the couch. The girls were on either side of us and were wincing at The Exorcism.

"Tomorrow." I said, regretfully. Classes started in a week and we had a lot to do before the school year started. Like for instance, buying books and moving into our apartment.

"Cool. Wanna do something?"

"Like…?"

"I don't know. Breakfast or something?"

I shook my head, feeling guilty. "We have to run some errands."

That was a lie.

He smiled. "Whatever."

"When are you leaving?"

Jess took Sarah's hand, looking at her like she was worth a million dollars. They'd been together since mid-senior year and were going strong. She was practically family, by now. I'd mostly lived at home since I'd come back, because I couldn't decide what else to do. But in May, I moved up to live with Riley for a few months before school let out, despite our parents arguments against it. I'd spent so long away from her, I wanted to be with her all the time. Cheesy as it sounds, it was the truth.

"Next Sunday."

Next Sunday. Nine days. Nine days till Jess wasn't a fourteen year old kid anymore, he was a seventeen year old going to college a year early.

"That's crazy."

"I know, rig-"

"_Oh my god!"_

Sarah and Riley screamed until my ears bled, and from the look on Jess's face, his were too. The night was good.

The night was another one of my lasts.

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"This is where it happened."

I was standing on the sand by Lake Ogle. I hadn't been back at the Lake since that night.

Riley moved up next to me and laced her fingers through mine. I brought her hand up to my lips and held it there, not wanting to let go.

"Do you think about it a lot?"

I shook my head. "No. Not much."

She watched the water. It was hot outside, which meant boat after boat and jet ski after jet ski. About four thousand 4th grade girls walked around in bikinis, and even more freshman girls in less fabric than the 4th graders. Families ran around us, staring at the college kids who were frozen. I stared at the spot where it happened, wondering if anyone had died there since.

"Luke, it's eleven o'clock."

"Is it?"

"It is."

I looked down at her, and saw her watching me with a concerned look in her eyes.

"I've been thinking." I began, turning towards her. "I'm not going to make this drawn out or anything, but it's about time."

She gave me a lopsided smile. "What's this about?"

I felt myself blushing as I looked down, then moved my eyes to meet hers.

"We've been together for four years, sort of." I said. "And I know better than anyone what it's like to lose you. I can't let that happen again."

I kneeled on the ground and reached into my pocket.

"I love you, and I just… I want you to marry me."

I flipped open the black box. Her face was priceless. She hadn't seen this coming at all.

"So…" I said after a few seconds of silence. "Will you? Will you marry me?"

People had gathered around and were watching. A few awed and other pulled out their phones.

"Yes." She said, surely. She had tears in her eyes. "I would love to marry you."

I was smiling more than I had in years. I slid the ring onto her finger and stood, picking her up and kissing her. People clapped and congratulated us.

So you can see, the night before _had _been a last. It had been the last night before my future with Riley had been determined.

I found out some things about lasts. They hurt, and usually are full of pain and tears and heartbreak. But they're not all bad.

Because without lasts, we'd never have any firsts.

I set Riley down and kissed her one more time.

"I love you, Riley."

She smiled and leaned her forehead against mine, eyes closed.

"I love you too, Jack."

**_ A/N_**

******_Last chapter(: _**

******_I just want to take a moment and thank every person who's reviewed, followed, or favorite this story. I love you all, and I want to thank you so much for reading this!_**

******_The epilogue will be out tomorrow, and after that a complete listing of the songs I listened to, to get in the mind of Luke, Jack and Riley. _**

******_Much love – xoxo- Icy_**


	25. Epilogue

Luke

**_Ten Years Later_**

**_Nothing is Too Wonderful to be True- Dirty Rotten Scoundrels _**

"Babe, you need to get out of bed. It's past 7."

…

"Honey, you have to go to work."

…

"Fine. You asked for it."

I rolled over and covered my head with the blanket, feeling exhausted. I'd been at the hospital late the night before and was supposed to be at work _at_ 7:00 the next morning, which was already an hour later than my usual arrival time.

All of a sudden, eight hands and feet jumped on top of me.

"Dad, wake up!"

I groaned.

"_Wake up!"_

Riley sat on the edge of the bed and shook my arm. "Your kids are telling you to do something, dad."

I pulled the blanket away from my face to look at them. "Why aren't you at school?"

Jules fell over onto me, and her blonde curls covered the pillow. She was seven going on thirty, and let everyone know it.

"Snow day!" She said, giggling. "Mom says you can't go to work either."

I shook my head and sat up, rubbing my eyes.

"Honey, I can't stay home. I have someone coming in who needs to have a baby."

My son sat on my lap and handed me a toy figure of Santa Claus.

"Dr. Stevens called and is taking over the operation." Riley said. "We got two feet of snow last night, Luke."

My responsibility kicked in for a minute, but there was still my lazy twenty year old side that was telling me to just stay home and sleep. Not that I really had a choice anyway. I looked out the window and they were right.

"Well then I guess we're going to be home today." I said, kissing the top of Jack's head. He looked up at me, his eyes so blue they were almost silver. His hair was both unnaturally white and perfect, turning heads whenever we went anywhere. People asked if I dyed my two year olds hair, and I just smiled. "It's a family trait," I'd always say.

"I have to work for a while on the Robinson house." Riley said, standing and moving towards the door. "Do me a favor and get the crazies breakfast?"

I winked at her and got out of bed.

The rest of the day was normal. Jack and Jules worked on Christmas cookies, snowmen, and watched too many Disney movies. They had me tell them stories, including why we'd named them Jack and Jules.

"Why, daddy?" Jules had asked me with this wide eyed look on her face, making it impossible to be frustrated about the fact that I'd explain this every day for the past three years.

"We named you Jules because your grandmas name was Jules."

"Where is she?"

"She died." I had to said simply. But how do you explain death to a seven year old?

"And we named Jack, 'Jack', because I knew someone named Jack once."

"Was he your friend?"

I smiled. "Yeah. We were best friends."

Jess and Sarah called after Lunch. They planned on stopping by with their baby, Rory, the next day. They'd gotten married after dating for six years, and were honestly the happiest couple I'd ever seen.

Around three o'clock was their nap time, which meant I had a solid forty five minutes without kids.

That meant one thing.

"Have I ever told you how sexy you look with glasses?"

Riley looked up from her desk and leaned against her bent wrist. "I think you might've mentioned it once or twice."

I sat on her desk and looked at the papers she was signing.

"What is this?" I asked, holding up one that looked interesting. Interesting meaning, of course, _life changing._

She bit her slip and smiled.

"I was going to wait until tomorrow, when we went out to dinner."

After a minute, I had to motion for her to continue.

"Harrison Architecture Firm asked me to partner with them."

My eyes widened. Harrison was the most important, highly esteemed Architecture businesses in Chicago.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I am."

I moved around to the other side of the desk and hugged her, wondering how our lives had ended up so great.

We were successful, our kids were gorgeous, our families were great, and our marriage was great. Something was going to go wrong.

"Just enjoy it, Luke." She said quietly. "This isn't an ending. This is a beginning."

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"Daddy, tell us a story."

I settled back on Jules's bed, smiling. They were in bed, and I was itching to get into mine.

"A story? It's late, guys."

_"__Please?"_

God, these kids. I swear, Jules could make me do anything.

"Fine." I said with mock frustration. You guys get me every time."

Riley came into the room, picked up Jack, and sat next to me. My arm automatically found its way around her waist and she leaned her head against my shoulder. My family was here. We were safe, warm, and complete.

"Once upon a time, there was a boy named Jack. But that wasn't his only name…"

**_A/N._**

**_The End._**

******_I love you all! Thank you so much for all the wonderful, amazing follows, reviews, and favorites! I loved every single moment of this story, and I'm so excited to announce my next one! It's an original fiction that's going to be a 30 chapter story that'll be released in June. It's gonna be SUPER dramatic and a little angst-y. There'll be one chapter every day, and it's going to be super cool. Follow me (icywhisperingkiss) to get exclusive updates! _**

**_And I just want to thank you again for being so lovely to me. Writing is my passion, and I couldn't do it without a reader. 3_**

**_Now here's the preview (:_**

******_-Icy_**

The moments that make up our lives are the same moments that destroy us. They're the moments that cripple us, and suffocate us. They're same moments that force us to grow, and strengthen ourselves. The moments are what keeps us from making the same mistakes, and making more. They're what define us.

But what if you couldn't remember them?

They found me on a bus in Dallas. I didn't have anything on me that could identify myself, and I didn't have my memories. They were all gone.

They called me Jess. I made a new life with a new family in a new town. Six years later, I was doing fine.

Then the voices came.

They told me what I needed to do, and helped me do it. They knew things about me that I didn't, and I wanted to learn. I _needed _to learn, no matter the cost.

So I listened.

A new moment was born. A moment of destruction.

A moment of chaos.

A moment with the Voices.


End file.
